An Electronic Journal of the U.S. Department of State
Volume 9 Number 1, March 2004

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Contents 

INTRODUCTION

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION: AMERICA'S MOST IMPORTANT EXPORT

In this essay Albert Blaustein, who taught at Rutgers School of Law and authored a six-volume work on the U.S. Constitution, outlines how the document has been used as a model by other governments in crafting their own constitutions. Written to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, the article remains a classic assessment of the attraction of America's fundamental political document to nations struggling to achieve democracy from the eighteenth into the twenty-first centuries.

BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A CONSTITUTION

Herman Schwartz, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, discusses the basic decisions that must be made about the form of government desired before the drafting of a constitution can begin. Essential characteristics such as the system of government, the nature of judicial review, and protection of minority rights need to be addressed and decided before pen can be set to paper.

TOWARD CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD: AN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE

Professor of law at the University of Virginia and frequent consultant on constitutional revision A.E. Dick Howard discusses what countries in Central and Eastern Europe and throughout the world took from the American model and how each country's unique cultural and political circumstances led them down different constitutional paths.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE

Associate Supreme Court Justice O'Connor made this presentation at the recent Arab Judicial Forum in Bahrain. In it she argues that the independence of the judiciary is a fundamental element in successful constitutional government and makes specific reference to constitutions of countries in the region that guarantee such independence. O'Connor also discusses ways in which the U.S. judicial system protects judges from politics.

DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION MAKING: THE SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

In a recent report from the U.S. Institute of Peace "Democratic Constitution Making" professor Vivien Hart analyzes recent practices of constitution making around the world, especially in divided societies where the constitutional process was a way of reconciling difference, negotiating conflict, and redressing grievances. She also discusses the South African constitutional process as a model.

CONSTITUTIONALISM IN THE MUSLIM WORLD: A CONVERSATION WITH NOAH FELDMAN

Feldman, who teaches law at New York University, participated in the creation of the new constitution in Afghanistan and has consulted in the development of Iraq's Transitional Administrative Law that was recently signed. He discusses some of the unique issues that faced drafters in these war-torn countries and the struggle over how much influence Shariah codes should have in these emerging democracies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Further reading on Constitutionalism.

INTERNET SITES

Internet sites on Constitutionalism.