Dorf on Law

One of the problems with American constitutional discourse is that it is so – how do I put this? – 'American'. Of course, this is not really a problem when it is being used to analyze issues arising under the American constitution. But American constitutionalism (and the particular experiences it embodies) also tends to dominate comparative and international constitutional discourse as well. And it is here where the problem lies. Simply put, much of the rest of the world, particularly but not exclusively the developing world, are confronted by constitutional developmental issues that the American experience simply never confronted. The American experience is innately conservative – we have conceptualized our constitution as a means of preserving a “more perfect” constitutional and social order, rather than as a means for building a new order. It is a constitution that seeks to restrain ‘government’. But much of the rest of the world is engaged in a process o...