can be the only long-term solution, because even the most intricate of
consociational systems relies ultimately on the preparedness of the majority
to have less of its own way than it could force by sheer weight of numbers.
Anything that breaks down this forbearance threatens destruction to society
and makes the position of a vulnerable minority worse than it might have been
had earlier steps to break down the hostility been enforced.
Constitution
A constitution consists of a set of rights, powers and procedures that regulate
the relationships between public authorities in any state, and between the
public authorities and individual citizens. Most countries have a written
constitution or basic document which defines these relationships (the United
Kingdom is the most notable example of a country without such a constitu-
tional code, while Israel and New Zealand have only recently introduced basic
constitutional laws). But all written constitutions have to be supplemented in
practice from other sources. The words in any document will need to be
interpreted, and constitutional practice may well be amended over time. Thus
judicial decisions, custom, convention and even authoritative textbooks may
provide guidance and regulation, and may therefore be said to be a part of a
country’s constitution.
It is possible to classify constitutions in a number of different ways: according
to whether they are federal (Australia, the USA) or unitary (the United
Kingdom, France); according to whether they exhibit a separation of
powers(as in the USA) or a fusion of powers (as in the UK); or according
to whether they employ some device forjudicial review(as in Germany) or
have a special procedure for repealing constitutional laws; and particularly
according to how difficult it is to amend the constitution.
One-party states often issue elaborate constitutions allegedly guaranteeing
basic freedoms (seecivil liberties); the Soviet constitutions of 1936 and 1977
purported to provide for civil liberties but did not in reality circumscribe
governmental power in any effective manner.
Constitutional Control
The idea of constitutional control relates to the ability of a political system to
work within the confines set by its constitution, and to the ability of the
guardians of the constitution to apply it to those who hold power. In the USA
theWatergateaffair, which resulted in the impeachment of President Nixon
in August 1974, became a constitutional issue because of the way the chief
executive interpreted his powers, and because he resorted to political man-
oeuvres which seemed contrary to the spirit of the constitution. Nixon’s
Constitutional Control