Chapter 9
Constitutions
&
the Design of Government
Constitutions
 A set of rules by which power is distributed
 Law determining the fundamental political principles
of a government
 Most organizations & states have one
Example: United States Constitution
Constitutions
 Vary in formality and specificity
 Purposeful vagueness can be advantageous (as with
US Constitution) because allows new administrations
to change with the changing times
Designing a Constitution
1.
2.
3.
Text should not break long-standing traditions of
government in a state
Constitution should be relatively easy to change
(example: Amendment process in United States)
There should be an incentive compatibility so that
leaders want to follow the constitution.
Forms of Constitutional Organization
 Unitary: A state in which no other governmental
body but the central government has any areas of
policy that are exclusively under its control
 Federal: Local governmental authorities are set
up and these localities are given certain decision
making authority
 Federation: Two governments (example: federal
and 50 states in US) have some authority to
govern people
Constitutionalism
 Rule of law
 Faithful adherence and willingness to follow the
intent of the Constitution