Donald S. Lutz

Toward a Theory of Constitutional Amendment.

Constitutional design proceeds under the assumption that institutions have predictable consequences, but modern political science has not pursued the empirical verification of these predicted consequences with much vigor. I shall attempt to link the theoretical premises underlying one important aspect of constitutional design, the amendment process, with the empirical patterns revealed by a systematic, comparative study of constitutions. An examination of all amendments in the 50 American states since 1776 reveals patterns that are then confirmed using data from 32 national constitutions. The interaction of the two key variables affecting amendment rate can be described by an equation that generates predicted amendment rates close to those found in the cross-national empirical analysis. A constitutions length measured in number of words, the difficulty of an amendment process, and the rate of amendment turn out to have interlocking consequences that illuminate principles of constitutional design.

The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought

Drawing upon a comprehensive list of political writings by Americans published between 1760 and 1805, the study uses a citation count drawn from these 916 items as a surrogate measure of the relative influence of European writers upon American political thought during the era. Contrary to the general tendencies in the recent literature, the results here indicate that there was no one European writer, or one tradition of writers, that dominated American political thought. There is evidence for moving beyond the Whig-Enlightenment dichotomy as the basis for textual analysis, and for expanding the set of individual European authors considered to have had an important effect on American thinking. Montesquieu, Blackstone, and Hume are most in need of upgrading in this regard. The patterns of influence apparently varied over the time period from 1760 to 1805, and future research on the relative influence of European thinkers must be more sensitive to this possibility.

The United States Constitution as an Incomplete Text

Viewing the Constitution of the United States of America as a political text leads to the application of techniques of textual analysis when reading it. Textual analysis shows the Constitution to be incomplete, both as a constitution and as a founding instrument of the federal union. A complete text of a constitution for the United States requires inclusion of the state constitutions, and a complete text of a founding instrument for the United States requires inclusion of the Declaration of Independence. Any meaning to be derived from the U.S. Constitution, including the intentions of the Founders, requires taking into account the purpose for which the Constitution is being read, what constitutes a complete text for that purpose, and the context in which the document was written.

Recruitment to the Houston City Council

We still know very little about what kind of people become city council candidates and why they run for the office. Furthermore, little attempt has been made to extract meaning from the data we do have.1 For example, Charles Adrian long ago predicted the type of person likely to be attracted to nonpartisan local elections, but little effort has been directed toward determining the accuracy of his predictions.2

The Federalists, the Antifederalists, and the American political tradition

Introduction by Michael T. Gibbons and Wilson Carey McWilliams Machiavellian Lessons in America: Republican Foundings, Original Principles, and Political Empowerment by Kent Brudney Reflections on Human Nature: The Federalists and the Republican Tradition by David Freeman Montesquieu and the Ideological Strain in Antifederalist Thought by Abraham Kupersmith The Fall of James Wilsons Democratic Presidency by Susan Abrams Beck The Founders, Woodrow Wilson, and the Public Good by Dwight Kiel The Public Sphere, Commercial Society, and The Federalist Papers by Michael T. Gibbons Bibliographical Note Index

Principles of the constitutional order : the ratification debates

The essays in this volume consider the writings of those who drafted the Constitution, as well as the arguments pro and con presented during the ratification debates. The first of these essays examine the founding principles from historical, political and philosophical perspectives. The second group outlines the main Anti-Federalist arguments. A discussion of the nature and implications of the doctrine of separated powers follows and the volume closes with psycho-historical portraits of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. The volume focuses attention on the Founding period so that the original character and principles of our political order may be seen clearly, in spite of the glory and veneration with which age and custom have draped our constitution.

American Political Writing during the Founding Era, 1760-1805

These volumes provide a selection of seventy-six essays, pamphlets, speeches, and letters to newspapers written between 1760 and 1805 by American political and religious leaders. Many are obscure pieces that were previously available only in larger research libraries. But all illuminate the founding of the American republic and are essential reading for students and teachers of American political thought. The second volume includes an annotated bibliography of five hundred additional items for future reference.

Lawrence D. Longley and Alan G. Braun. The Politics of Electoral College Reform. Pp. 222. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972.

and balanced force reductions (MBFR) in Europe, this problem again arises. To what extent, and how, can the Soviet Union be prevented from invoking the Brezhnev Doctrine and re-introducing troops into East-Central Europe? Here, the &dquo;liberalization&dquo; of Communist regimes-one goal of Western policy in Europe-and the reduction of military forces stationed in Europe-another goal of Western policymay be largely incompatible. Kennan devotes considerable attention to U.S. domestic life in the 1950s. His &dquo;reencounter with America,&dquo; as he terms his return to this country after many years in the Foreign Service, is that of a man critical of much of American life. He notes the &dquo;obvious deterioration in the quality of both American life itself and the national environment in which it had