Susan Alberts, How Constitutions Constrain

The establishment of constitutionalism—defined as widespread adherence to democratic rules and procedures—is a key factor determining a country's success in institutionalizing democracy. Constitutionalism helps make democracy work, and a framework can be established for analyzing the relationship between constitutions and constitutionalism. Applying this framework to seventeen "third wave" democracies in Latin America, Southern, and Eastern Europe, the findings indicate a relationship between constitutional dispersal of power, system performance, and constitutionalism. They also suggest a new approach to the question of what makes democracies endure.