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This book challenges the common view that the Russian Constitution is a sham or a reflection of Russia's authoritarian past. It instead shows that the Russian Constitution was a product of the constitutional 'dark arts', an increasingly common constitutional practice that seeks to guarantee liberal democracy and individual rights in a system of highly centralised power. Over time in Russia, the centralisation of power in the president has undermined the constitution's democratic and rights protections. This Russian experience matters for three reasons. First, it shows that Russian authoritarianism is neither the personal creation of Vladimir Putin nor a natural reflection of Russian history. It is instead the product of a centralised constitutional system. A democratic Russia is possible but requires more than just Putin leaving office - it also requires breaking with Russia's constitutional commitment to centralisation. Second, it demonstrates the role that the constitutional dark arts play in populist authoritarianism around the world. In these contexts, centralisation allows one office to claim popular legitimacy and dominate politics while (generally falsely) also claiming to respect individual rights and democracy. Third, it reveals that democratic constitutions are more than legal texts enforced in court. They are more fundamentally political texts that create a balanced state with political checks on the centralisation of political power. These checks and balances do not just limit state power and protect rights; they also enable the state to better understand and advance the general well-being of its citizens. This book therefore provides critical guidance to those involved in building democracy in a post-Putin Russia. It is also important to those seeking to better understand the role that constitutions play in shaping both authoritarian and democratic politics.
Russian Constitutional Law is one of the first publications to offer profound analyses of the main institutions of the Constitutional Law of the Russian Federation in English. The authors, representing the Constitutional Law Chair of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO-University), cover the most important and basic categories of Constitutional Law in Russia: namely, the Constitution; the Status of the Individual; Federalism; the Electoral System; Federal Bodies (the...
This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Building on earlier work, this text combines theoretical perspectives with empirical work, to provide a comparative analysis of the electoral systems, party systems and governmental systems in the ethnic republics and regions of Russia. It also assesses the impact of these different institutional arrangements on democratization and federalism, moving the focus of research from the national level to the vitally important processes of institution building and democratization at the local level and to the study of federalism in Russia.
Do countries that add rights to their constitutions actually do better at protecting those rights? This study draws on global statistical analyses and survey experiments to answer this question. It explores whether constitutionalizing rights improves respect for those rights in practice.
'[The] scholarship is consistently thorough and lucid, and absolutely reliable' European Public Law As reviews of the first edition attest, this book gives a unique critical and contextual insight into the Constitution of one the world's most powerful countries. Its first edition was published in 2011, when Dmitrii Medvedev was Russia's President. Since then there was a regime change in 2012 as Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency, and, significantly, dramatic shifts in constitutionality as Russia pursues a 'return to traditional values'. The book explores the Constitution's evolution over its nearly 30 years' existence, including the significant amendments of 2020. This second edition situates these important changes in the context of Russia's historical and legal development, as Putin continues to dominate the political scene. It also looks at broader constitutional questions on the interrelation between the main State agencies, the role of the courts, human rights and their enforcement.
Provides a detailed analysis of how Russia's understanding of international law has developed Draws on historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives to offer the reader the 'big picture' of Russia's engagement with international law Extensively uses sources and resources in the Russian language, including many which are not easily available to scholars outside of Russia
A starting point for the study of the English Constitution and comparative constitutional law, The Law of the Constitution elucidates the guiding principles of the modern constitution of England: the legislative sovereignty of Parliament, the rule of law, and the binding force of unwritten conventions.
This edited volume examines the link between constitutional asymmetry and multinationalism in multi-tiered systems through a comprehensive and rigorous comparative analysis, covering countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. Constitutional asymmetry means that the component units of a federation do not have equal relationships with each other and with the federal authority. In traditional federal theories, this is considered an anomaly. The degree of symmetry and asymmetry is seen as an indicator of the degree of harmony or conflict within each system. Therefore symmetrisation processes tend to be encouraged to secure the stability of the political system. However, scholars have linked asymmetry with multinational federalism, presenting federalism and asymmetry as forms of ethnical conflict management. This book offers insights into the different types of constitutional asymmetry, the factors that stimulate symmetrisation and asymmetrisation processes, and the ways in which constitutional asymmetry is linked with multinationalism.
Bold and unconventional, this book advocates for an institutional turn-about in the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism.
Russia After Communism provides an overall assessment of the first five years after the Soviet Unions' collapse, what has been accomplished and what has failed to date, and where Russia is heading. In a unique collaborative effort, the book features chapters on major issues written by pairs of leadi