A Sociology of Post-Imperial Constitutions

"The first claim in this book is that the development of constitutional law has a dialectical relation to imperialism, and to military forces that accompany imperialism. From their first emergence, constitutions formed components in lines of state building connected to inter-imperial rivalry, and they reflected the interlinking of states in a transnational military system. In this process, Imperialism shaped the development of constitutions in different ways. Many states acquired constitutions as they were separated from existing empires, so that national self-determination became the wellspring of constitutional law"--