Democracy and legal change / Melissa Schwartzberg.
"Since ancient Athens, democrats have taken pride in their power and inclination to change their laws, yet they have also sought to counter this capacity by creating immutable laws. In Democracy and Legal Change, Melissa Schwartzberg argues that modifying law is a fundamental and attractive dem...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Cambridge University Press,
2009.
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| Series: | Cambridge studies in the theory of democracy.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Since ancient Athens, democrats have taken pride in their power and inclination to change their laws, yet they have also sought to counter this capacity by creating immutable laws. In Democracy and Legal Change, Melissa Schwartzberg argues that modifying law is a fundamental and attractive democratic activity. Against those who would defend the use of 'entrenchment clauses' to protect key constitutional provisions from revision, Schwartzberg seeks to demonstrate historically the strategic and even unjust purposes unamendable laws have typically served, and to highlight the regrettable consequences that entrenchment may have for democracies today. Drawing on historical evidence, classical political theory, and contemporary constitutional and democratic theory, Democracy and Legal Change reexamines the relationship between democracy and the rule of law from a new, and often surprising, set of vantage points. "--Publisher's website. |
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| Item Description: | Originally published: 2007. |
| Physical Description: | xii, 228 pages ; 23 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0521146577 9780521146579 |