Constitution - The Symbolic Marker In The Political Metamorphosis Of The World - Article Review

Author: LawSphereX

Category: Constitutional & Human Rights

Published: 2026-08-23T18:54:20.526+00:00

Updated: 2026-08-30T07:09:40.454Z

CONSTITUTION: THE SYMBOLIC MARKER IN THE

POLITICAL METAMORPHOSIS OF THE WORLD: ARTICLE REVIEW

Vaishnavi Makne, Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur

ABSTRACT

This article review critically examines Bruce Ackerman's work, "The Rise of World Constitutionalism," which explores the evolution and significance of written constitutions in modern political systems. Ackerman contrasts historical skepticism toward constitutions with the contemporary global embrace of constitutional frameworks and judicial review. The review discusses Ackerman's analysis of federalism, the transformation of treaties into constitutions, and the role of political leaders and judicial systems in shaping constitutional governance. It highlights the article's strengths, such as clear definitions and relevant illustrations, and critiques its analytical gaps and weak conclusion. Ultimately, the article is significant for its comprehensive exploration of constitutionalism as a symbol of political transformation worldwide.

Keywords: World Constitutionalism, Federalism, Judicial Review, Political Transformation, Written Constitutions, New Beginning Scenario, Maximal Leader, Constitutional Courts, Bruce Ackerman Article Information: Ackerman, Bruce. “The Rise of World Constitutionalism. ” Virginia Law Review, vol. 83, no. 4, 1997, pp. 771–97. JSTOR, https://doi. org/10. 2307/1073748. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024. Introduction Aristotle discussed the foundations of a constitution by defining the citizenry that lives within a state. He pointed out a constitution is the way of life of a citizen-body which determines the politics of a state. 1 This holds true with regards to the present article penned by Prof. Bruce Ackerman titled, “The Rise of World Constitutionalism. ”2 In the present article, the author discusses the establishment of written constitutions on the touchstone of various political variables.

It is an excellent read that provides a thorough analysis of constitutionalism with significant and sufficient illustrations. In the article, Prof. Bruce takes the reader on a time travel through the history ranging from the dark age and into the period of enlightenment and discusses the significance of a constitution as a symbolic marker in the same. In this article review, we will aim to summarize the article at hand and provide the positive and negative aspects of the same while understanding its significance in the field. Let us begin by summarizing the major concepts of the article. Summary of the Article The author begins the paper by providing a sharp contrast between the 1930s and the current world scenario. In the 1930s, the world had lost its faith in written constitutions and judicial review whereas, in the modern world, they are of the utmost importance.

The author then puts forth two questions he wishes to answer via the article- the first question asking about the patterns required in the successful establishment of written constitutions and the second question asking whether the basic principles in these written constitutions account for the style of judicial review that the courts opt for. The author then begins his analysis through the discussion of federalism as a scenario. 1 von Fritz, Kurt. “The Composition of Aristotle’s Constitution of Athens and the So-Called Dracontian Constitution. ” Classical Philology, vol. 49, no. 2, 1954, pp. 73–93. JSTOR, http://www. jstor. org/stable/267410. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024. 2 Ackerman, Bruce. “The Rise of World Constitutionalism. ” Virginia Law Review, vol. 83, no. 4, 1997, pp. 771–

97. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1073748. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.

Federalism: From Treaty to Constitution The author begins the discussion by defining the standard case of federalism wherein a group of states signs a treaty to develop a center. The center then starts taking command and soon the treaty is transformed into a constitution with the courts checking every local law on the touchstone of their consistency with the constitution/treaty. This standard case-treaty scenario is seen today in the EU and in the USA. The author then dives in the discussion of a type of federation called the potential or prospective federation wherein a group of countries join an already existing federation of countries held together via a constitution/treaty. An illustration of the same is seen as the EU.

The author purports that these countries join such quasifederations for military and economic interests and allow judicial intervention in their domestic laws due to the fear of being levied with heavy costs by the EU. The cost-benefit analysis tilts in the favor of remaining a part of EU. An example of a successful country through such prospective federation is Poland, however for countries like Turkey, such form of federation has not proven to be fruitful. Aim of the author The author points out that his goal in writing this article is to draw parallels between constitutionalism and political variables in the history of various countries to understand the significance of written constitutions and the seat of judicial review with regards to the same owing to the modern frenzy of the world towards it.

From Constitution to Treaty- The reverse equation In lieu of the discussion of federalism, the author points that evolution occur in a reverse form also, i. e. , from a constitution to a treaty, through decentralization. An example of the same is given as Canada. New Beginnings Scenario In this part of the article, the author draws a line between political scenarios and constitutional jurisprudence and states that the constitutions act as symbolic markers for new beginnings in the political sphere.

The Peculiar Case of Germany To answer the question of how constitutions acquire the status of culturally important markers, the author takes the illustration of Germany. In the case of Germany, the Basic Law was drafted after the first world war when Germany was on probation. This period was marked by great political tension in the internal affairs of Germany, despite such tension, the German elites and the Judges of the German Constitutional Courts made the Basic Law a success through its successful execution by departing from the Nazi regime. Despite such success, the author calls this regime as-a catastrophic defeat. The Triumphalist Scenario While talking about the triumph of a constitutional mechanism, the author considers the Bolshevik illustration in the year 1917, where the Bolsheviks put their faith in the ruling party who further revolutionized politics.

This is interesting because, it is from here that people decided to rule themselves. The author then points out the example of India which marks the success of a strong establishment of a constitution despite internal political turbulence. The author opines that the Indian constitution was successful because the ruling Congress party was led by popular leaders like Gandhi and Nehru who believed in a written constitution and made active efforts to implement it among the masses. The author then draws similarities between the ways of Max Weber and the leaders of the Congress Party in India and points out that both believed in the charisma of the constitution and used the constitution as a tool to institutionalize the mass political movement.

The author then concludes that the new beginning scenario in various countries can be marked by the constitution as a symbol in the political metamorphosis of the country. The Maximal Leader and his problems In this part of the article, the author discusses about a maximal leader as a significant character in the politics of a country who has a mass following and is usually from a military background. Such a leader has a personal charisma that is often a threat to a liberal democracy. A solution to the same is a two-theory approach, namely- the presidential approach and the parliamentary approach. The presidential approach puts the leader at the position of the president while allowing the democracy to thrive. Examples of this approach are seen in France with Charles de Gaulle in the presidential position and in the USA with George Washington.

While talking about judicial and military intervention, the author states that the strength of the military usually determines the degree of intervention done or required to be done by the judges. The recent American example can be seen here, where the investment of the government in the military has significantly increased. The Combination of the two Scenarios In the article, the author has discussed two scenarios- the federation scenario and the new beginning scenario. He further points out that the two are independent of each other but can co-exist. An example of the same is America during the 1780s when a treaty was signed between the states to establish a union but the new beginning in America only took place after Lincoln and Washington.

The Problem with Constitutional Courts In this part of the paper, the author points out that in the federation scenario, the style of adjudication of the courts is coordinating style wherein the courts uphold the constitutional principles. In contrast to the same, in the new beginning scenario, the style of adjudication is the redemptive style wherein the courts are not afraid to deviate from the constitutional principles which in turn creates a political change, hailed as the new beginning. The presidential variation of the new beginning stands as an exception to the same, as the courts here often adopt the coordinating style of adjudication due to the personal charisma of the president and his power. An example of the coordinating style can be seen during the time of the landmark case of Marbury v.

Madison3, during which the US Supreme Courts coordinated with the principles of human dignity. An example of the redemptive style can be seen at the German courts, who refused to apply the constitutional principles favoring the Nazi Regime, thereby, walking the country into a new beginning. The author conclusively ends the article asking whether he was wrong in suggesting that the constitutions marking a new beginning pose a different struggle than the federalist ones.

3 (Marbury v. Madison, 1803)

Critique The present article provides an interesting stance when it comes to constitutionalism in the modern world with regards to the politics. In this part of the review, we will attempt to provide the positive and the negative aspects of the article at hand to successfully determine its significance and impact in the field. Let us begin by discussing the positive aspects of the same. The Positive Aspects One of the most commendable aspects of the article is the author’s bold choice of the variable, i. e. politics. It is the most common practice amongst scholars to deviate from politics as it is a rather feared tangent. Scholars usually opt for a tangent that is easier to analyze and is dependent on numerals, like economics or metaphysics. In addition to the same, let us discuss the positive aspects of the article under the following sub-heads.

The Goal is Fulfilled The author, Bruce Ackerman had set out to write the present particle with an aim to draw parallels between constitutionalism and the various political variables in the history of a certain country. The author aimed to analyze the establishment of written constitutions and the institutionalization of judicial review with the help of certain political factors. This can be said to have successfully accomplished by the author as he dives into the various political factors like- a maximal leader who helps in bringing significant political change in the history of the country and various other factors. These factors provide the readers with a clear understanding of the establishments of several written constitutions around the globe.

Well-defined central concepts and sufficient illustrations Another positive aspect of the present article is that it clearly and succinctly defines the various central concepts like a new beginning scenario, which is defined as a new beginning in the politics of a country through the establishment of a written constitution. The author also provides the definition of a standard case of federalism through the lens of a treaty establishment. Furthermore, the author supports the several definitions with sufficient examples of the various countries around the world. For instance, the example of the said standard federalism is given as the EU and the USA. The author also provides examples of a new beginning scenario with the establishment of a written constitution in India and the Basic Law in Germany.

Negative Aspects Having understood the positive aspects of the article, let us now dive into the negative aspects of the same to provide a complete review. Gaps in the points of analysis While the article clearly defines its central concepts and provides illustrations, it leaves out various significant points of analysis that the author intended to branch out on but gave no further elaboration. The most significant point of analysis that was left out by the author is the concept of institutionalization of judicial review. The author clearly centers the article around the establishment of written constitutions and how they act as political symbols but fails to make any mention about the role of judicial review in the same. It is an established principle of law, that constitutions and role of judicial review goes hand in hand.

An elaboration of the institutionalization of judicial review would have benefitted the article in better achieving its goal. Furthermore, another point of analysis that was left untouched was the parliamentary approach/variant of the new beginning scenario. While discussing about the problem of the maximal leader, the author purports that the solution to the same is two-part, and one of them being parliamentary approach of the government. The author talks about the presidential approach, but no elaboration is given about the parliamentary variant whatsoever. A Weak Conclusion One of the most important aspects of any academic article is the conclusion that the author draws at the end of it. In the present article, the author fails to provide us with a strong conclusion to draw upon. The author concludes the article by simply stating that it is not the two scenarios, i. e.

, federalism and the new beginning scenario, that have characterized the rise of modern constitutionalism but a host of other factors too. There is, however, very little to no elaboration of what these factors could be and why they weren’t mentioned in the article that was written.

Furthermore, the author also states in his conclusion that the challenges in the new beginning and the federalistic scenario are different. This line of conclusion is true, but not sufficient to satisfy the elaborate discussion above. The author fails to provide a conclusion regarding the problem of the maximal leader that was discussed, and he also fails to conclude the discussion regarding the fate of judicial review in the hands of presidential leaders. Significance of the article Having understood the various aspects of the article, it is safe to say that the article is significant in the field of constitutionalism for its arrangement of the central concepts of analysis. Which is to say that the author successfully analyzes the rise of world constitutionalism under several branches. He starts by dividing the political scenarios into federalistic and new beginning.

He further divides the federalistic scenario into prospective or potential federalism as well as the reverse equation phenomenon. The new beginning scenario also has two variants- presidential approach and the parliamentary approach. Such arrangement of concepts provides for a thorough understanding of the political variables in the rise of written constitutions. Conclusion In the dynamic world of constitutional law, the present article provides a clear analysis of the establishment of written constitutions through the various political variables. The author states that constitutions have marked the end of the dark age and the beginning of the period of enlightenment with the help of various political factors like the maximal leaders, internal turmoil, so and so forth.

The positive aspects of the article were that it succinctly defined its central concepts and provided sufficient illustrations. However, the article failed to provide a strong conclusion to the various important points of analysis and failed to elaborate upon certain important concepts that the author branched out on. It can be conclusively said that the article is an excellent read as it signifies the establishment of constitutions in an uncertain world through beautifully laid down branches in history.