Who Are ‘We, the People’? Pluralist Constitutional Identity after Democratic Transitions in African and European Countries

Abstract

Abstract This chapter aims to explore how the constitutions of ethnically diverse multilevel systems created a pluralist identity in their original design and how it has been changed over time by political and judicial actors. The focus is therefore on pluralist identity in norms framing the image of ‘the people’ as the constitutional subject. The chapter first explains the concept of pluralist constitutional identity and why the image of the ‘the people’ is one of its core elements. It goes on to discuss what parts of a constitution frame this image, arguing that preambles are crucial but not the only part to look at. This forms the basis for a comparative analysis of Ethiopia, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Spain, four countries sharing certain common features. The chapter provides a brief introduction to how democratic transitions, creating windows of opportunity for a new pluralist identity, occurred in the national and subnational constitutional arenas.