Document Type
Book Review
Publication Date
2010
ISSN
1541-0986
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Language
en-US
Abstract
This is a review of Beau Breslin's book, "From Words to Worlds: Exploring Constitutional Functionality" (Johns Hopkins, 2009). As an antidote to what he believes to be scholarly marginalization of the "unique" aspects of a written constitution, Breslin focuses attention on seven functions of such a legal text: transforming existing orders, conveying collective aspirations, designing institutions, mediating conflict, recognizing claims of subnational communities, empowering social actors, and constraining governmental authority. This review briefly critiques Breslin's functional approach and discusses two of the more pressing goals of modern constitutionalism: managing social conflict and preserving cultural heritage.
Recommended Citation
Robert L. Tsai,
From Words to Worlds: Exploring Constitutional Functionality by Beau Breslin
,
in
8
Perspectives on Politics
1228
(2010).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/2742
