Institutions for Amending Constitutions

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the link between amendment institutions and formal constitutional changes. The authors’ survey of the extensive literature on constitutional amendment procedures and their consequences for constitutional adjustment highlights the lack of agreement about key mechanisms of constitutional change. Despite the increase in the availability of data on constitutions and the continuing sophistication of research methods and measures, there is still no consensus on the extent to which amendment procedures influence the pace of formal constitutional change. The authors argue that amendment institutions provide only a partial explanation of constitutional change, which also needs to take into account a number of additional political, economic, and social factors.