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Comparative Politics and Government

Notes 5. In a country with diverse religions, cultures, languages and ways of life, constitutionalism
enjoins the adoption of a federal system in consonance with the urges and aspirations of the
people and exigencies of the prevailing conditions.
6. Serions attention should be paid to incorporate provisions touching new themes like protection
of human rights, preservation of a healthy environment, and observance of the norms of
international law and morality.
7. Existing provisions of the constitution should be suitably amended, or new ones should be
incorporated, so as to meet the requirements of the new trends of globalisation and liberalisation.

What do you mean by constitutional Government?

One thing is, however, certain that the idea of constitutionalism is still in an experimental stage
and that it is under the stress of a severe challenge coming from the side of the communist model.
Since modern state is a social welfare state, it is also needed that the constitution of a country must
be such that the ideal of the socio-economic welfare of the people should be realised along with
the realisation of the purpose of securing a stable political order. The ideal of national democratic
constitutionalism, ancient though its origins may be, “is still in an experimental stage and that if
it is to survive in competition with more revolutionary types of governments, we must be prepared
constantly to adapt it to the ever-changing conditions of modern society. The basic purpose of a
political constitution is, after all, the same wherever it appears: to secure social peace and progress,
safeguard individual rights and promote national well-being.”

3.5 Liberal and Marxist Notions

Constitutionalism, as already stated, stands for a system having division of powers and an
arrangement of checks and balances so that the government remains responsible; it also desires
that the system be provided with adequate techniques and procedures that can bring about a
systematic and orderly change. It does not stand for a particular form of government, though it
may be described as essential for a democratic polity in view of the fact that it limits the powers
of the government and seeks to check the ‘abuse of power’. One may hardly agree with this
interpretation that constitutionalism is against any form of centralisation of powers where in there
is no harmony between the authority of the state and the liberty of the individuals. Such an
interpretation refutes the case of constitutionalism in a country having a fascist or communist
model of government. A look at the views of eminent writers on this subject shows that there are
two varying concepts given by the ‘liberal’ scholars on the one hand and by the ‘socialist’ writers
on the other, though we may also refer to the case of the concept of constitutionalism in the
‘developing’ countries of the world.
Liberal Concept of Constitutionalism: Western writers like Thomas Paine, Alexis de Tocqueville,
James Bryce, Harold J. Laski, Herman Finer, Charles H. Mcllwain, C.F. Strong, Carl J. Friedrich
and a host of others have taken the view that constitutionalism is both an end and a means; it is
both value-free and value-laden; it has both normative and empirical dimensions. The provisions
of the constitution not only provide for the composition of various organs of the government and
the powers entrusted to them, they also attach sanctity to the norms of liberty, equality, justice,
rights, etc. For instance, the Constitution of India in its Preamble enshines the ideals of Justice,
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. According to this view, the constitution is not only an end that
ought to be respected by all, it is also a means to an end, the being the achievement of security and
the protection of liberty of the people.
The western concept of constitutionalism stands for a constitution that is either in the form of a
document, or it is like an assemblage of numerous laws, institutions and customs. The ‘rigid’ view
of some scholars like Thomas Paine and A. de Tocqueville that there ‘exists no constitution in

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