A Constitution of the People and How to Achieve It. Aarif Abraham
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ibidem-Press, Stuttgart
In tribute to my teachers
—past, present and future—
with particular gratitude
for my mother, aunty, and uncles
Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. “A text about a text”: constitutions of Britain and Bosnia
1.1 Searching for the soul of a state
1.2 Overview of the British constitution
1.3 Overview of the Bosnian constitution
1.4 Comparative constitutional histories
2. “Look a shoot is sprouting”: measuring culture
2.1 Political culture in theory
2.2 Political culture in practice
2.3 Political culture applied to Bosnia and Britain
2.4 Problem of political apathy
3. “Going back to whence I sprang”: assessing apathy
3.2 Anti-systemic orientations
3.3 Absence of interpersonal trust
3.4 Institutions as an explanation
4. “We’ve still not found a cure”: constitutional rules
4.1 Constitutional choice and change
4.2 Recurrent crisis and rarefied reform in Bosnia
4.3 Rising strain amidst weak reform in Britain
4.4 Reform dilemmas and deadlock
5. “We need to uncover lost paths”: modelling change
5.1 Modelling intransigence
5.2 Modelling the failure of reform
5.3 Modelling successful evolution in the short run
5.4 Modelling future co-operation and participation
6. “A text about hope”: lessons from Bosnia and Britain
6.1 Debate, deliberation and participation
6.2 Lessons for Bosnia and post-conflict societies
6.3 Lessons for Britain and pre-conflict societies
6.4 Pathways out of constitutional quagmires
BEYOND LAW, PRESCRIPTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the conversation, counsel and guidance of a great many friends and colleagues who have added immeasurably to my understanding of politics, law and international relations over the course of my academic and professional callings. Our interactions have made writing this book enjoyable and highly rewarding.
I am very grateful to Professor Philippe Sands QC, Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Hon. Dr Brett Mason, Dr Valery Perry, and Margaret Owen OBE for their contributions to this book, as well as their critical thoughts and reviews. A much better book is the result.
I am indebted, in particular, to my friends and mentors: Helena Kennedy, Geoffrey Nice, Valery Perry, Kyrie James and Salim Ibrahim. They have often given up their valuable time, without asking for anything in return, to help resolve dilemmas and difficulties. In this case, they have extended their kindness to tackle seemingly intractable ones in Bosnia and Britain.
I would like to give thanks to a number of colleagues who contributed directly to the preparation of this book. Valery Perry is a leading scholar on Bosnian constitutional reform. Without her constructive, challenging and critical comments whatever nuance and distinction there is in this book would have been lost.
I was very privileged to have been taught, and encouraged in my thinking about Bosnian constitutional reform, by the late Zdravko Grebo. He never once suggested that conventional thinking might be the answer to elusive endeavours in pursuit of peace and justice. As one of the young leaders of the first mass protests in Yugoslavia, he inspired many a mind to stand upright, and without fear, in the face of powerful and insurmountable behemoths. I hope I am a worthy student.
I had insightful discussions about constitutions with Dr Kurt Bassuener, Professor Daniel Sewer, and Ewelina Ochab. Kurt Bassuener provided much food for thought drawing upon his many decades of experience and scholarship on the Bosnian constitution.
Dr Rachel Kurian and Alina Trkulja provided useful comments and direction as to the structure of my original thesis and Dr Mansoob Murshed, a specialist in game theory, helped develop the models adopted in this book through his feedback.
I received very helpful critical suggestions on either the proposal or parts of the draft manuscript from: Dr Miles Jackson, Mark George QC, Andrew MacDowall, Dalila Sadinlija, Kate Young, George Mitchell, Kerim Suruliz, and Natasha Jackson. This book, in style and substance, is much improved as a result. Among the kind readers of the manuscript was Patrick Page. As a master of the written word, he led me on a testing, but extremely rewarding, journey in questioning all my defaults as to style. I am grateful to him.
Lily Lewis, through a fortuitous turn of