Being There Is Half the Battle: Group Inclusion, Constitution-Writing, and Democracy

Abstract

Using an original data set assessing the effect of the 195 new constitutions worldwide over the past 40 years on levels of democracy, this article argues that when popular participation and group inclusion are both considered, inclusion is what matters. After showing that group inclusion generates more improvements in levels of democracy than mere participation in our data set of implemented constitutions, we address some of the prominent cases of constitution-writing failure that occur when individual participation is valued more highly than group inclusion. The article shows that even after unprecedented waves of popular participation through social media feedback (Egypt and Iceland) and focus groups and workshops (Chile), participation alone cannot generate constitutions that improve levels of democracy, or, sometimes, even the very promulgation of new constitutions. Indeed, using these cases as illustrations, we show how participation without inclusion is doomed to failure. We then show that high inclusion cases, even if they involve low participation (such as Tunisia 2014 and Colombia 1991), do generate democracy improvements.

Judging Deliberation: An Assessment of the Crowdsourced Icelandic Constitutional Project

“…Overall, the empirical evidence here supports cautious conclusions regarding the possibilities of an intentional deliberative setup that is hosted on a legitimate site, is moderated, non-anonymous, guided by specific topics, and encourages the direct involvement of policy makers. We also note the similarity of our findings to recent studies of successful online deliberation (Cagle and Herndl 2019;Curato et al 2017;Eisenstadt and Maboudi 2019). A consensus may be emerging: online deliberation is possible when the parameters of discussion are well defined and enforced, topics are clearly stated, and the process is inclusive by design.…”

From Public Participation to Constitutional Legitimacy: Evidence from Tunisia

“…Building on these theoretical conjectures, several empirical studies suggest that inclusive and participatory processes lead to constitutional literacy (Wing 2008), create a sense of constitutional ownership among the general public (Hart 2003), improve the democraticity of constitutions (Maboudi 2020a), and improve post-adoption levels of democracy (Eisenstadt, LeVan, and Maboudi 2015; Eisenstadt and Maboudi 2019). This literature, however, has been criticized on several grounds, including the fact that participatory processes are considered both time and resource costly (see Bannon 2007).…”

From Mistrust to Understanding: Inclusive Constitution-Making Design and Agreement in Tunisia

“…3 Authors additionally differ in whether they view inclusiveness formally or substantively. Often, the label has been used to signify the fact that all key stakeholders are present at the negotiating table, which I label formal inclusiveness (Brown 2011, 9; Eisenstadt and Maboudi 2019; Elster 2012, 160; Miller 2010, 652). Yet, I argue that for inclusiveness to be meaningful, parties should not only have membership but their voices have to be heard ( substantive inclusiveness ).…”