NEW BOOK

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the past decade we have seen windows of opportunity for democratisation open up in countries across the world, including Ethiopia, The Gambia, Myanmar and Malaysia, to name just a few prominent examples. Many of those windows have closed again, some remain open, or at least still ajar. How can we better understand such windows of opportunity for building a more democratic political system? Demoptimism Director Professor Tom Daly and Professor Dinesha Samararatne are pleased to announce the publication of the edited collection Democratic Consolidation and Constitutional Endurance in Asia and Africa: Comparing Uneven Pathways.

December 2024: The book was published in March 2024 but we’ve been thinking more about its main focus due to a range of developments this year, including the resignation of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 under pressure from both the military and mass popular demonstrations and the ousting of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow on 8 December 2024 after the fall of Damascus. The question that arises in these contexts is: what comes next?

 
 

“We need to better understand how windows for building democracy can be leveraged to set a society on a sustainable democratic path. Part of this is understanding past windows for transition, and that’s what makes this book so important. Looking at seven states - Ethiopia, Gambia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand - it offers a wealth of insights relevant not only to these states but also to societies, democrats, and international organisations worldwide.”

―Tom Daly and Dinesha Samararatne, editors

 
 

  • What factors drive constitutional change and sustain positive transformation? How are democratic values recognised, restored, and preserved through constitutional change? Bringing together leading and emerging voices in constitutional law, this groundbreaking new collection considers recent democratising events in Ethiopia, The Gambia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

    Across seven thematic chapters and seven case studies, the volume provides analytical insight into central topics arising from these events, including the role of political parties which depart from 'Western' frameworks; the often-marginalised place of courts; the centrality of civil-military relations; the explanatory power of constitutional cultures; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Thematic Chapters


    Public Offices in Processes of Constitutional Development
    JG Allen     


    The Role of Governing Institutions in Attempted Reform Processes
    Kimana Zulueta-Fülscher     

    Here, There, and Everywhere: Locating the Political Party inDemocraticTransitions and Backslides
    Mouli Banerjee      

    Constitutional Courts and the Exceptionality of Regime-Change
    Julius Yam

    Civil-Military Relations
    Shanil Wijesinha and Daniel Alphonsus 

    Constitutional Cultures
    Cheryl Saunders      

    The Impact of COVID-19
    Joelle Grogan  

    Case-Study Chapters


    Prospects forDemocraticConsolidationin The Gambia: A Cup Half Full, Half Empty (or More)?
    Satang Nabaneh  
       
    Ethiopia’s Transition: Will the Country Stem Descent to its Tradition of Authoritarianism? 
    Adem K Abebe      

    The Maldives Constitution 2008: Winds of Change at the Fifteenth-Year Crossroads
    Mariyam Zulfa      

    Sri Lanka’s Chronic Inability to SustainDemocraticReform  
    Luwie Ganeshathasan    
      
    Myanmar’s Transition to Peace and Democracy: The Journey Reversed
    Ohn Mar Zin, Naw Janet and Kimana Zulueta-Fülscher  
       
    Coup and Decay: How Thai-style Democracy Abuses Constitutionalism
    Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang    

    Making a Progress on a Rocky Path:DemocraticConsolidationand Endurance in Malaysia, 2018–2021
    Wilson Tay Tze Vern 

  • Dinesha is a Professor at the Department of Public & International Law of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is a Senior Fellow and Convenor of the Constitution Transformation Network (CTN) at Melbourne Law School, Australia, editorial member of the Indian Law Review and Editor of the University of Colombo Review. Her research interests include fourth-branch institutions, constitutional resilience, judicial review, women's rights and comparative constitutional law  and comparative administrative law from a global south perspective.

    Tom is Professor, Director of Research Impact, and Convenor of the Constitution Transformation Network (CTN) at Melbourne Law School, Director of the Electoral Regulation Research Network (ERRN), and Director of the online knowledge platform Demoptimism www.demoptimism.org). His comparative research focuses on the decay and renewal of democracy, constitutional design, and constitutional repair. His consultancy work includes designing a pan-continental African Judicial Network and leading or working on constitution-building projects and reviews in states and regions including Ireland, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, the Pacific, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.

  • This book now also stands as a tribute to one of our authors, Dr Julius Yam, who passed away in mid-March 2024 after a period of illness. His thematic chapter on courts for this collection is a characteristically incisive analysis that illuminates and challenges in equal measure. We feel his loss keenly, and we hope you will join us in remembering him as such a valued colleague and much-loved friend, especially by engaging with his ground-breaking work which will stand as a legacy to his intellect, creativity, and commitment to the field.

    We will continue to pay tribute to Julius in connection with this book. You can also access a broader tribute forthcoming in the Comparative Constitutional Studies journal co-written by Tom Daly (a close collaborator and friend), Nick Barber (Julius' PhD supervisor at Oxford), and Cora Chan and Anna Dziedzic (close friends from the University of Hong Kong).

 

taster texts

Access these two chapters to get a sense of the book as a whole.

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Introduction

Decolonising Comparative Constitutional Law (and Democratisation Studies)?

Tom Gerald Daly & Dinesha Samararatne

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Ch 7

Constitutional Cultures

Cheryl Saunders