Research
皇家娛樂城 Conference Addresses Democracy Gap
Why do new constitutions further improve democracy in some nations but not in others? What is the nature of interest group involvement in the drafting, approval, and implementation of new constitutions? How do such constitutions impact the politics of 鈥渄ay to day鈥 in democratizing nations?
These are the kinds of questions to be addressed "The Gap from Parchment to Practice: Ambivalent Effects of Constitutions in Democratizing Countries,鈥 a conference sponsored by the , the , the School of Public Affairs' Department of Government, and the School of International Service Comparative and Regional Studies program, on May 28 and 29th. Discussions will cover issues in new democracies including Colombia, Venezuala, Bolivia, Egypt, and other countries.
The conference, which is organized by 皇家娛樂城 faculty members Todd Eisenstadt (SPA), Carl LeVan (SIS), and Rob Albro (SIS), is open to the public.
Conference Schedule
Tuesday, May 29
听
School of International Service, Founder鈥檚 Room
Opening
9:15 - 9:30 听Welcome from James Goldgeier, School of International Service and Barbara Romzek, School of Public Affairs
Theoretical and Empirical Questions I
9:30 听鈥淣ew Constitutions and Democracy: an Overview鈥 -- Robert Albro, Todd Eisenstadt, Carl LeVan, 皇家娛樂城
DISCUSSANTS: Joel Barkan, Center for Strategic and International Studies and Michael Coppedge, University of Notre Dame
Theoretical and Empirical Questions II
Moderated by Todd Eisenstadt, 皇家娛樂城
10:30 听鈥淐an We Trust Legislators to Write Constitutions?鈥 -- Zachary Elkins, University of Texas 鈥 Austin听
DISCUSSANT: Ernesto Calvo, University of Maryland
Theoretical and Empirical Questions III
Moderated by Carl LeVan, 皇家娛樂城听
11:30 听鈥淏ringing Insights from Corporate Governance to the Study of Constitution Making鈥 -- Jennifer Widner, Princeton University
DISCUSSANT: Jon Gould, 皇家娛樂城
Cases and Regions I: Northern Andes
Moderated by Agustina Giraudy, 皇家娛樂城
1:45 听鈥淒eepening Democracy via Constitutional Change? Contrasting Colombia and Venezuela鈥 -- Ana Maria Bejarano, University of Toronto and Renata Segura, Social Science Research Council
DISCUSSANT: Matthew Taylor, 皇家娛樂城听
2:45 听鈥淰enezuela: Between ta Bolivarian Constitution and the Authoritarian Populism of Hugo Ch谩vez鈥 -- Nelly Arenas, Central University of Venezuela
DISCUSSANT: Miriam Kornblith, National Endowment for Democracy
Cases and Regions II: African Cases
Moderated by Ryan Briggs, 皇家娛樂城听
4:00 听鈥淐onstitutional Legitimacy and the Dimensions of Participatory Constitution-Making鈥 -- Devra Moehler and Eleanor Marchant, University of Pennsylvania
DISCUSSANT: Gina Lambright, George Washington University听
5:00 听鈥淐onstitution-making and Democracy in Mali: The Unraveling of a Democratic Model鈥 -- Susanna Wing, Haverford College
DISCUSSANT: Adrienne LeBas, 皇家娛樂城听
Wednesday, May 29
School of International Service, Founder鈥檚 Room
Cases and Regions III: Bolivia鈥檚 Bold Experiment
Moderated by Jo-Marie Burt of George Mason University (invited)
9:15 听鈥淐onstituent Power from Below in Bolivia? Implications of Rights-based Conflict in the New Constitutional Era鈥 -- Robert Albro, 皇家娛樂城
DISCUSSANT: Miguel Centellas, University of Mississippi
10:15 听鈥淩efounding 鈥榟alfway鈥 in Bolivia: the Consolidation of a Hybrid Democracy after the Promulgation of the 2009 Plurinational Constitution鈥 -- Diego Ayo, Universidad Cat贸lica de Bolivia
DISCUSSANT: Katie Kuhn, George Washington University听
Cases and Regions IV: Egypt and Middle East
Moderated by Diane Singerman, 皇家娛樂城
11:15 听鈥淏ringing the Constitution Online: The Struggle over Egypt鈥檚 New Constitution鈥 -- Ghazal Poshtkouhian Nadi and Tofigh Maboudi, 皇家娛樂城
DISCUSSANT: Nathan Brown, George Washington University听
1:30 听鈥淐onstitutionalizing Islam: Variations in Religion-State Relationships among Muslim Countries鈥 -- Shaheen Mozaffar, Bridgewater State University
DISCUSSANT: Kristin Diwan, 皇家娛樂城听
Conclusions
Moderated by Eric Hershberg, 皇家娛樂城听
2:30-4:00 听Roundtable: 鈥淯nderstanding the Ambiguous Impacts of New Constitutions on Democracy鈥 -- Robert Albro, Todd Eisenstadt, Zackary Elkins, Carl LeVan, Jennifer Widner