Patterns of Constitutional Evolution and Change in Eastern Europe

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Abstract
Constitutions are not all alike. They differ according to the tradition, physical, economic, and social conditions, world-view, culture, and historical experience of a people which gives itself a constitution. Despite this diversity of constitutions, it is justifiable to claim a universally valid concept of constitutionalism: a set of ideas and principles which form the common basis of the rich variety of constitutions. According to probably the most common place understanding, constitutionalism embraces essentially the idea of limited government.1 Although this meaning is undoubtedly an indispensable ingredient of constitutionalism, it does not fully grasp its principle. It would suggest that the constitution plays a purely negative and defensive role in the polity. In fact, if we are not willing to conceive of political power as an existential, unrationalized, and unfathomable fact of life which originates and persists prior to any kind of cultural rationalization, we must realize the constituent and constitutive role of the constitution for political power.

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