A postmodern account on cultural pluralism and harmony. Comparing the constitutional experiences of Bolivia and Nepal Comparing the Constitutional Experiences of Bolivia and Nepal

Abstract

Cultural pluralism and the legal acknowledgment of diversity are currently pervasive topics within comparative constitutional law debates. From the post-Westphalian conception of the nation-state, contemporary and avant-garde forms of constitutionalism in Latin America and South Asia had to struggle with the colonialism’s legacy of monoculturalism, claiming for a proper space for their autochthonous traditions within the legal systems. To this extent, the constitutional experiences of Bolivia and Nepal represent suitable examples to “re-think” the role of culture through a less legalistic approach. From these assumptions, the article aims to verify whether the concept of harmony within the constitutional frameworks of pluralistic societies could be considered as one of the main features of their legal systems (or even the funding myth of the state) within intercultural/multicultural approaches to diversity.