Product Information
Twenty-first-century constitutions now typically include a new 'fourth branch' of government, a group of institutions charged with protecting constitutional democracy, including electoral management bodies, anticorruption agencies, and ombuds offices. This book offers the first general theory of the fourth branch; in a world where governance is exercised through political parties, we cannot be confident that the traditional three branches are enough to preserve constitutional democracy. The fourth branch institutions can, by concentrating within themselves distinctive forms of expertise, deploy that expertise more effectively than the traditional branches are capable of doing. However, several case studies of anticorruption efforts, electoral management bodies, and audit bureaus show that the fourth branch institutions do not always succeed in protecting constitutional democracy, and indeed sometimes undermine it. The book concludes with some cautionary notes about placing too much hope in these - or, indeed, in any - institutions as the guarantors of constitutional democracy.Product Identifiers
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISBN-139781009048491
eBay Product ID (ePID)7049035074
Product Key Features
Number of Pages220 Pages
Publication NameThe New Fourth Branch: Institutions for Protecting Constitutional Democracy
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2021
TypeTextbook
Subject AreaConstitutional Law
AuthorMark Tushnet
SeriesComparative Constitutional Law and Policy
Dimensions
Item Height229 mm
Item Weight273 g
Additional Product Features
Country/Region of ManufactureUnited Kingdom
Title_AuthorMark Tushnet