Sujit Choudhry and George Anderson Edit "Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions"

NEW YORK, July 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- "Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions" is a collection of essays that detail the wide array of challenges that territorial disagreements pose for constitution-making processes and constitutional design. It is highly relevant to current conflicts across the globe, including those in Libya, Myanmar, and Yemen. 

For a limited time, excerpts from "Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions"are available for free download here. 

"Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions" includes 17 case studies of countries undergoing constitutional engagement in different contexts, including small distinct territories, bi-communal countries, highly diverse countries with many politically salient regions, and countries where territorial politics is important but secondary. The authors draw examples from Cyprus, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Spain, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and more.

The collection of essays offers policy recommendations based on a realist view of the complexity of territorial and political cleavages. The volume concludes with a synthetic chapter that draws original conclusions from the comparative analysis of the case studies and relates these to existing research. This volume is essential reading for scholars of federalism, consociational power-sharing arrangements, asymmetric devolution, and devolution. The combination of in-depth case studies and broad analysis allows for unique conclusions that will be of relevance to practitioners and advisors alike.

In addition to releasing the collection of essays, George Anderson and Sujit Choudhry authored a companion policy paper under the same title that "seeks to provide insights into how territorial claims relate to constitution-making processes and constitutional design and... offer advice that may be useful to principals and advisors engaged in constitutional moments."

Choudhry is the founder and director for the Center of Constitutional Transitions. He is also an internationally recognized constitutional lawyer and scholar. He has advised on constitution building, governance, and rule-of-law processes for decades in countries including Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Myanmar, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Ukraine, and Yemen.

Anderson is a former deputy minister for the Canadian government and former CEO of the Forum of Federations. He is a fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Diversity at Queen's University. In addition, he has been a member of the Sandby Team of Experts for the United Nations Department of Political Affairs and consulted around the globe.

"Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions" became available for purchase on Amazon (Kindle or hardcover versions available) on May 9. The policy paper is available for download. The collection of essays has been lauded by notable figures in the industry including but not limited to the following:

"While comparative constitutionalism is the stock in trade of conflict resolution practitioners, too often this is not accompanied by an understanding of the underlying logic and political dynamics that inform or limit constitutional options. It is here that Territory and Power in Constitutional Transitions makes an outstanding and invaluable contribution to our understanding of the logic of possible options for constitutional processes and design, especially in a context of territorial cleavages."
–Nicholas Haysom, former envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan

"This collection is highly impressive in both its breadth and depth. Local knowledge and theoretical sophistication combine to make this essential reading for scholars and practitioners interested in constitutions, federalism, territorial cleavages, and peace. The synthetic conclusion shows just how far we can advance knowledge through collaboration across national and disciplinary boundaries. We need more studies like this."
–Nancy Bermeo, PIIRS Senior Scholar, Princeton University, and Nuffield Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford

SOURCE Sujit Choudhry