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Theorizing the Constitutional Revolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn
Gary Jeffrey Jacobsohn*
Affiliation:
University of Texas at Austin
*
Contact the author at gjacobsohn@austin.utexas.edu.
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Abstract

The concept of the constitutional revolution has become ubiquitous, but it is applied to all manner of things that are unlike each other in notable ways. It has been generously applied to events in such far-flung places as South Africa, Eastern Europe, Great Britain, India, Canada, Iran, Israel, and the United States. Despite its oxymoronic character, it has the potential to illuminate a much-vexed subject of scholarly inquiry. This article seeks to sharpen conceptual clarity in the way we depict constitutional change, specifically that species of change that entails significant breaks or departures in the workings of the constitutional order.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , Spring 2014 , pp. 1 - 32
Copyright
© 2014 by the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

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