Wow! eBook
Federalism, Subnational Constitutions, and Minority Rights
Author(s): G. Alan Tarr
- Publisher: Praeger
- Publication Date: 30 Aug. 2004
- Language: English
- Print length: 256 pages
- ISBN-10: 0274680203
- ISBN-13: 9780275980245
Book Description
Whether federalism and subnational constitutions contribute to or undermine minority rights has long been a subject of controversy. Within the United States, the general view has been that federalism has been detrimental to minority rights. In contrast, other countries have seen federalism as crucial in safeguarding rights of ethnic and religious minorities. This volume provides the basis for a more nuanced assessment of the contributions of federalism and subnational constitutions to protecting minority rights by studying their impact in a variety of federal systems.
This work explores both mature federal systems (Switzerland, United States) systems in transition (Belgium, Bosnia, Herzegovina), both quasifederal (Italy, Spain) and well-established systems (Germany), both systems with considerable homogeneity of population (Austria) and systems with extraordinary diversity (India). It also analyses the various constitutional arrangements that federal systems have devised for safeguarding minority rights and given them a voice in political deliberations.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
G. ALAN TARR is Director of the Council for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University-Camden. He is author and coauthor of several books in judicial politics, including rican Constitutional Law, 4th Edition95), and te Supreme Courts in State and Nation88). He also serves as series editor on Reference Guides to the State Constitutions in the United States, published by Greenwood Press.
ROBERT F. WILLIAMS is Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. He is the editor of
State Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials, the first law and political science coursebook on the subject. In addition, he has written, lectured, and practiced widely in the area of state constitutional law.
