
Contents
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1. Introduction 1. Introduction
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2. Pluralist Constitutional Identity and the Image of ‘the People’ 2. Pluralist Constitutional Identity and the Image of ‘the People’
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3. Constitutional Provisions Framing the Image of ‘the People’: Where to Look for Them? 3. Constitutional Provisions Framing the Image of ‘the People’: Where to Look for Them?
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3.1 National and Subnational Constitutions 3.1 National and Subnational Constitutions
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3.2 Preambles and Beyond 3.2 Preambles and Beyond
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3.3 The Original Constitutional Design and Constitutional Change 3.3 The Original Constitutional Design and Constitutional Change
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4. Comparing Two African and Two European Countries 4. Comparing Two African and Two European Countries
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4.1 The Constitutional Heritage and Its Contestation (or Not): The Old Order and the Transition to Constitutional Democracy 4.1 The Constitutional Heritage and Its Contestation (or Not): The Old Order and the Transition to Constitutional Democracy
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4.1.1 Transition in the national constitutional arena 4.1.1 Transition in the national constitutional arena
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4.1.2 Transition in the subnational constitutional arena 4.1.2 Transition in the subnational constitutional arena
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4.2 Framing the Image of the People as Constitutional Subject 4.2 Framing the Image of the People as Constitutional Subject
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4.2.1 ‘We the people(s)’: Formulas explicitly defining the constitutional subject 4.2.1 ‘We the people(s)’: Formulas explicitly defining the constitutional subject
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4.2.2 Our symbols: representations of the constitutional subject in everyday life 4.2.2 Our symbols: representations of the constitutional subject in everyday life
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4.2.3 Our past and future: narratives and aspirations 4.2.3 Our past and future: narratives and aspirations
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5. Conclusion 5. Conclusion
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Bibliography Bibliography
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5 Who Are ‘We, the People’? Pluralist Constitutional Identity after Democratic Transitions in African and European Countries
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Published:February 2024
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Abstract
This chapter aims to explore how the constitutions of ethnically diverse multilevel systems created a pluralist identity in their original design and how it has been changed over time by political and judicial actors. The focus is therefore on pluralist identity in norms framing the image of ‘the people’ as the constitutional subject. The chapter first explains the concept of pluralist constitutional identity and why the image of the ‘the people’ is one of its core elements. It goes on to discuss what parts of a constitution frame this image, arguing that preambles are crucial but not the only part to look at. This forms the basis for a comparative analysis of Ethiopia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Spain, four countries sharing certain common features. The chapter provides a brief introduction to how democratic transitions, creating windows of opportunity for a new pluralist identity, occurred in the national and subnational constitutional arenas.
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