Democracy Redefined (michel Chiha And The Lebanese Constitution)

By (author) Mallat Chibli
Short description/annotation:
Presents a radically new definition of majoritarian democracy.
Description:
At a time when democratic government is under attack, Chibli Mallat offers a new definition of democracy: the necessary representation in government of citizens as ''members of historically subordinate groups'', a concept first opened up by Michel Chiha (1891-1954) during his drafting of the Lebanese Constitution of 1926. The book rests on two main research pillars: the first is a detailed historical and institutional examination of Levantine and Lebanese institutions, drawing on dozens of 19th and 20th century documents, including Chiha''s constitutional papers. With unprecedented access to the Chiha Archive, Mallat constructs a world vision of Chiha through his writings and political positions which act as the background to his constitutional contributions. The second pillar examines the success and failures of an enduring Lebanese Constitution to advance this radically new view of majoritarian democracy, based on extensive research in political science and in constitutional law.
Description:
At a time when democratic government is under attack, Chibli Mallat offers a new definition of democracy: the necessary representation in government of citizens as ''members of historically subordinate groups'', a concept first opened up by Michel Chiha (1891-1954) during his drafting of the Lebanese Constitution of 1926. The book rests on two main research pillars: the first is a detailed historical and institutional examination of Levantine and Lebanese institutions, drawing on dozens of 19th and 20th century documents, including Chiha’s constitutional papers. With unprecedented access to the Chiha Archive, Mallat constructs a world vision of Chiha through his writings and political positions which act as the background to his constitutional contributions. The second pillar examines the success and failures of an enduring Lebanese Constitution to advance this radically new view of majoritarian democracy, based on extensive research in political science and in constitutional law.
Table of contents:
Expanded Table of Contents List of Tables Preface Acknowledgments Transliteration Abbreviations and Chiha-related Primary Sources 1. Orientation: Two Centuries of Institutional Communalism in Lebanon Part I. Communalism and the Birth of Elections 2. The Birth of Representative Communalism - From Simqaniyya (1697) to the Beirut Consultative Council (1834) 3. The Entrenchment of Communalism and the Birth of the Electoral Principle (1840-1920) Part II. The Lebanese Constitution of 1926 4. The Constitution of 1926: Reconstructing the Timeline 5. The Constitution of 1926: Structure and Inspiration 6. Building Constitutional Blocks: The Communitarian Straitjacket 7. Building Constitutional Blocks: Modern Constitutionalism Part III. Chiha after the Constitution 8. Constitutional Developments 9. Chiha’s Worldview 10. Chiha’s Nation Part IV. Constitutionalism and Group Representation 11. Lebanese Constitutionalism and the Political-Theological Middle East 12. Constitutional Frontiers: The Lebanese Constitution and the World 13. Democracy Redefined 14. Epilogue General Bibliography Index
Review quote:
The coverage of this book is way more than adequate; it is extraordinary. The author deftly organises a depth of historical detail into a gripping narrative with an exciting point: the evolution of communal (religious) representation to a “best practice” model in Lebanon, with pros and cons. It then offers an entirely original contribution to contemporary democratic theory: an argument for the conscious, communal representation of subordinate groups. It is rare to be taken out of one’s intellectual ruts and thrown into a new and convincing way of looking at the world. This book does that. I found it hard to put down.
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