ADRO 12A00 - Introduction to Comparative Political Institutions and constitutional law

The 18th century movement of constitutionalism posited a link between written constitutions and conceptions of Statehood, Nations, Peoples, and the collective regulation of fundamental values through political institutions. Four major waves of democratization (1820-1926; 1945- 1960; 1974-1990; 2011-2014), as well as the growing use of constitutionalized political institutions by dictators, although greatly varied in content, did not modify the “constitutionalist” conception of the regulation of political institutions. However, today, underlying calls for enhanced popular participation and deliberative democracy challenge the pertinence of actual inter-institutional mechanisms and constitutional supremacy. Understanding the framework in which political institutions are born, are organized , and evolve by and for the State is therefore essential to the comprehension of modern political regimes. This course compares issues of constitutional and institutional structure by addressing the general principles underlying State constitutions and the choice and legitimacy of political regimes (Lectures and workshops 1-4), and then analyzing the implementation process of these principles (Lectures 5-8 and workshop 5), and the particularities of contemporary constitutions (Lectures 9-12 and workshop 6). Principles of constitutional structure include the analysis of the historical roots of political institutions and constitutions, their underlying goals, and their provisions and formal characteristics. In particular, this first part of the course addresses the following questions: Why and how did modern States emerge? Are institutions endogenous to the State? What are the effects of decentralization of power in unitary or federal States? Can a State exist without a constitution; a constitution without a State? What are the basic elements of constitutions? What are constitutions intended to protect or make possible? What theories have influenced the framers of constitutions? What is the process by which States draft and amend constitutions? What are the different types of government? How can one define majoritarian or self-governing democracy; representative or direct democracy? How does the separation of powers influence institutional design? What is the actual debate confronting “presidentialism” versus “parliamentarism”? How is contemporary institutional design affected by innovative mechanisms tending to strengthen transparency, accountability, direct participation, and deliberation, as well as the regulation of fourth branches? Two workshops will then question what makes a government legitimate, followed by a third workshop addressing the link between electoral systems and the reality of self-governed democracy, while a fourth workshop challenges whether deliberative democracy could be a solution to representative insufficiencies. Process of constitutional implementation: Building on the principles examined in the first section, the second part of the course focuses on the difficult implementation of constitutionalism in France. We will examine French constitutional history in detail as it represents substantially all the species of constitutional regimes that have yet been developed (constitutional monarchy, assembly regime, directorate, consulate, empire, parliamentary regime, presidential regime, “semi-presidential” regime). The reasons for the success or failure of each attempted regime in France will serve as guidelines to the analysis of the regimes discussed in part 3. After the historical and political analysis of the implementation of French constitutionalism, one workshop will examine the limits to sovereignty through participation in the European Union. Particularities of contemporary institutional design: This last section examines the design and evolution of classical parliamentary regimes (Great Britain, India, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Russia) and presidential (United States and Brazil) regimes, as well as specific power sharing mechanisms in divided societies (Switzerland, Belgium, Bosnia, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, China, European Union). To further understand the scope of these particularities, a final workshop will address transitional regimes and the contested theory of global constitutionalism.

Diane KHAIR,Gretchen ALLEN-MESTRALLET,Nicolas BERLING,Gabriel DIAS MARQUES DA CRUZ,Charlotte BLONDEL,Elisabeth TALBOURDET

Cours magistral et conférences

English

Autumn 2022-2023

1/ 2/3 of the final grade is comprised of three equal marks obtained in seminars (see details on pgs.6-7 hereafter) - the mean grade of weekly “quiz game” on key terms and questions (1/3 of the seminar grade, aimed at preparing the 12 minute question time for the final exam, see method p. 7 hereafter). - the mean grade of participation in weekly team debates on seminar documents (1/3 of the seminar grade, aimed at strengthening group argumentation skills, see method p. 7 hereafter) - one individual oral presentation (1/3 of the seminar grade, aimed at preparing the final exam; method p. 6 hereafter), 2/ 1/3 of the final grade: final examination (8-minute oral presentation and 12 minutes of questions) ➢ Twenty-minute preparation time (without notes or documents; no phones allowed) ➢ topic drawn by lot: the student will be presented with two lists o one with wide scope subjects (ex: Sovereignty in the State) o and the other with more limited scope subjects (ex: French Consulat and Empire) o the student will choose ONE subject and hand the other back to the examiner ➢ 8-minute oral presentation and 12 minutes of questions in the same format as that followed during the seminar presentations. The examination room has a clock, no phones allowed for timing.

The course will be divided into 12 required three-hour lectures, 12 required two-hour seminars, and 6 open format optional reading groups. Power points, required readings, and course outline are available on the CLASS GOOGLE DRIVE prior to each lecture. The power points and required reading should be studied before each lecture, with the aim of enabling students to raise questions and debate key issues when called upon during the lecture. Weekly seminars will take place during the week following the lectures, and include both practical (case studies and commentaries) and theoretical (essays and debates) exercises. At the end of the course, the student is expected to: 1. master the language and metalanguage of political institutions and comparative constitutional law (“key words” indicated on each of the 12 seminar outlines). 2. be able to argue the pros and cons of implementing particular institutional and constitutional choices (“key questions” indicated on each of the 12 seminar outlines) 3. be able to develop a personal critical issue and thesis concerning each of the principles, processes, and particularities covered in the class (as illustrated in the outlines of each of the 12 lectures, and with the format that students will present weekly in seminars).