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In the 225 years since the United States Constitution was first drafted, no single book has addressed the key questions of what constitutions are designed to do, how they are structured, and why they matter. In From Words to Worlds, constitutional scholar Beau Breslin corrects this glaring oversight, singling out the essential functions that a modern, written constitution must incorporate in order to serve as a nation’s fundamental law.Breslin lays out and explains the basic functions of a modern constitution—including creating a new citizenry, structuring the institutions of government, regulating conflict between layers and branches of government, and limiting the power of the sovereign. He also discusses the theoretical concepts behind the fundamentals of written constitutions and examines in depth some of the most important constitutional charters from around the world. In assaying how states put structural ideas into practice, Breslin asks probing questions about why—and if—constitutions matter.Solidly argued and engagingly written, this comparative study in constitutional thought demonstrates clearly the key components that a state’s foundational document must address. Breslin draws a critically important distinction between constitutional texts and constitutional practice.

Comparative politics

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Comparison is an essential research method in political science. This book helps students to understand comparison as a scientific instrument, to grasp its necessity and its effective purpose for research. For that reason, it replies to three 'simple' questions: why compare, what to compare, and how to compare. The introduction distinguishes itself by considering not only the comparative tradition but also by taking methodological innovations of the last two decades into account.

Social sciences --- Social science research --- Research. --- comparative politics --- introduction --- methodology

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Building, or re-building, states after war or crisis is a contentious process. But why? Sabaratnam argues that to best answer the question, we need to engage with the people who are supposedly benefiting from international ‘expertise’. This book challenges and enhances standard ‘critical’ narratives of statebuilding by exploring the historical experiences and interpretive frameworks of the people targeted by intervention. Drawing on face-to-face interviews, archival research, policy reviews and in-country participant-observations carried out over several years, the author challenges assumptions underpinning external interventions, such as the incapacity of ‘local’ agents to govern and the necessity of ‘liberal’ values in demanding better governance. The analysis focuses on Mozambique, long hailed as one of international donors’ great success stories, but whose peaceful, prosperous, democratic future now hangs in the balance. The conclusions underscore the significance of thinking with rather than for the targets of state-building assistance, and appreciating the historical and material conditions which underpin these reform efforts.

International Relations --- Postcolonial Politics --- Colonialism --- Comparative Politics --- Identity

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“The Programmatic Action Framework (PAF) is the newcomer in the pluralistic set of the theories of the policy process." -Giliberto Capano, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Bologna, Italy “The book presents empirical cross-country evidence for the PAF's idea that overlapping biographies of policy actors and resulting social identities often drive collective action.” -Tanya Heikkila, Professor of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, USA “This work advances knowledge of programmatic actors comparatively.” -Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Professor, Simon Fraser University, Canada “Johanna Hornung shows that policy change is irrevocably linked to the programmatic group, framed by two specific institutions - the recruitment processes and career paths of administrative actors.” -Sabine Saurugger, Professor of Political Science, Science Po Grenoble, France. This open access book is the first monograph to systematically apply the Programmatic Action Framework (PAF) in a comparative analysis of public policy in two institutionally different countries. The PAF seeks to explain long-term policy change by examining the shared biographies of policy actors who, to foster their careers, coalesce around policy programs which they promote throughout the policy process. Comparing health policy-making in France and Germany between 1990 and 2020, the book sheds light on the institutional settings that are necessary for programmatic action to occur. It will appeal to scholars and students of public policy, public administration, and health policy. Johanna Hornung is a Research Associate at the Institute of Comparative Politics and Public Policy, TU Braunschweig, Germany.

Political planning. --- Comparative government. --- Medical policy. --- Public Policy. --- Comparative Politics. --- Health Policy. --- Programmatic action --- Health policy --- Comparative politics --- Public policy --- Social identities --- French health policy --- German health policy

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This comparative volume looks at the track record of several defunct federalisms to identify options that have been overlooked and decisions that precipitated the collapse. Bringing together insights from the study of state failure and federal collapse, it examines the ways in which parallel assessment is crucial for suggesting the complex structures of identity accommodation in federal entities.

Comparative government. --- Federal government --- Comparative political systems --- Comparative politics --- Government, Comparative --- Political systems, Comparative --- Political science