The Oxford Dictionary of the Social Sciences: Constitution and Constitutionalism

Volume 1|Issue 3| Winter 2013 |From the Library

Abstract

Constitution and Constitutionalism: The Basic Law or set of fundamental rules and principles that govern a polity. In most countries, these rules are recorded in a single written document (the constitution), although basic rules may also reside in accumulated custom, practice, judicial precedents, and ordinary law. A few countries, such as Britain, Israel, and Saudi Arabia do not have written constitutions; instead they rely on convention and precedent to regulate ordinary politics. In these cases, the parliament or monarch is technically sovereign, although ordinarily they are bound by informal rules.

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Deputy Director of the Book Translation Unit at the ACRPS, Syrian author, translator and also a medical doctor. His major translations include Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson, as well as articles on “Buddhist Mysticism and Psychology,” works from Suzuki, “Freud and Buddha: Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism,” “Freud’s Women,” work from Paul Rosen, “Critical Theory: The Frankfurt School,” and articles from Alan Howe.

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