Constitutional Movement Research Articles

EXAMINATION OF CONSTITUTIONALIST MOVEMENTS AND CONSTITUTIONS IN TERMS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMOCRACY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Constitutionalism involves curbing state power, protecting fundamental rights, and defending citizens' rights against the state. Aligned with democratic theory, it's grounded in the concept of human dignity, advocating for the autonomy and participation of vulnerable individuals in community governance. Democratic theory emphasizes the crucial right of citizens to influence the selection of lawmakers in a free society. Constitutionalism insists on honoring human dignity and values, affirming citizens' right to democratic participation while ensuring clear constraints on their governments, even when in line with the majority's preferences. Originating with the Magna Carta in 1215, constitutionalism reached Ottoman lands about six centuries later. Ottoman constitutional movements, commencing with the 1808 Sened-i Ittifak and progressing through the 1839 Tanzimat Edict, the 1856 Islahat (Reform) Edict, and the 1876 Constitution, were influenced by both internal and external factors. These movements, despite lacking public demand, played a pivotal role in introducing democratic values and institutions in Ottoman history, including the country's first parliamentary election.

Граница Мексики и США в период мек-сиканской революции в контексте проблемы соблюдения принципа нейтралитета

The article analyzes the involvement of the United States in the events of the Mexican Revolution in relation to the situa-tion on the border of the two countries. Based on archival and published sources, it shows how socio-economic, legal and military factors influenced the decision-making process by officials in Mexico City and Washington, as well as non-state forces represented by rebel groups. It is noted that among the tools for achieving foreign policy goals and gaining ad-vantages over opponents during the revolutionary struggle, there was a constant appeal to the concept of “neutrality.” The rapprochement of the United States with the constitutionalist movement in 1913–1914 and the search for reducing the risk of war between the two countries in 1916 stand out as hall-marks. It is emphasized that due to this, Mexican-American relations were a complex combination of conflict and mutual interests.

Confrontation and Cooperation between the Clergy and Constitutional Intellectuals

The ideas of the clergy and intellectuals, as well as the nature of their confrontation and cooperation during the Constitutional Revolution, have been examined. Given that numerous articles have been written on the Constitutional Revolution and its various aspects, the present article seeks to analyze the confrontation and cooperation between the clergy and the constitutional intellectuals from a different perspective. By presenting the views of some Shiite authorities and leading scholars of that period, alongside the perspectives of European-educated intellectuals, this descriptive-analytical study aims to answer the question: why was there initial cooperation between the clergy and intellectuals in the struggle against despotism at the beginning of the Constitutional movement, but after a while, especially after the victory of the constitutionalists, did cooperation give way to confrontation and conflict between them, ultimately leading to its failure? The hypothesis is that both groups, the clergy and the intellectuals, set aside many of their ideological differences during the physical and field struggle against despotism, due to their shared goal of rejecting the status quo. This shared goal was the primary reason for their initial success. However, various factors, such as the silent interference of foreign powers acting in their own interests, and the incompatibility and conflict among the factions leading the Constitutional Revolution—each of which pursued its own specific objectives after the victory—led to the movement's disintegration and ultimately to the rise of another authoritarian figure, Reza Khan.

On Zhang Jian's Constitutional Movement

On Zhang Jian's Constitutional Movement

El Triunfo de la rebelión civilista y regionalista de Antofagasta contra la dictadura militar en 1932

This article examines the origin and dissolution of the Antofagasta Civilian Constitutional Movement (MCC for the Spanish acronym) that defeated Gr. Bartolome Blanche dictatorship. MCC represented the deeply rooted regionalist sentiment forged in the warmth of the city’s genesis via the municipality’s organization of its people. MCC action involved reestablishing democratic institutionality as a potential solution to the region’s social and economic crisis. The complexity of the political fabric in 1932 also slightly influenced the reaction against political and administrative centralism and military intervention in politics.

A Country that Seeks its Future in the Past: the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Face of the Protest Movements

Iran’s protest movement “Woman – Life – Liberty” has turned into calls to end the Islamic Republic itself. In seeking new ways forward, some of Iranian civil society are considering returning to monarchy and the constitutional movement of 1906.

Quo Vadis Amandemen Konstitusi: Kebijakan Hukum Partisipatif-Populis Versus Representatif-Elitis

Constitutional and governmental issues and problems occur by looking at the interests of the elite and the will of the people who want fundamental changes related to state life and government life which affect the overall life of a nation state. Indonesia is a very large nation state with a state government that is managed from Sabang to Merauke with various tribes, religions, races and groups that are full of diversity. State and government life is not free from various problems at the elitist and populist levels which are resolved by just and civilized constitutional and governmental mechanisms. One of the various ways to make changes to constitutional legal policy is by making constitutional amendments to the 1945 NRI Constitution. Constitutional amendments to the 1945 NRI Constitution can be seen in the elitist representative legal policy model and the participatory-populist legal policy model. The battle of issues and problems as well as solutions based on representative-elitist legal policy versus populist participatory legal policy will create positive things (constructive nation-building in all fields) and negative things (destructive constitutional movements that destroy the foundations of the unitary state). Anticipating the occurrence of negative things will make the constitutional amendment run smoothly and all parties can accept it openly.

Quo Vadis Amandemen Konstitusi: Kebijakan Hukum Partisipatif-Populis Versus Representatif-Elitis

Constitutional and governmental issues and problems occur by looking at the interests of the elite and the will of the people who want fundamental changes related to state life and government life which affect the overall life of a nation state. Indonesia is a very large nation state with a state government that is managed from Sabang to Merauke with various tribes, religions, races and groups that are full of diversity. State and government life is not free from various problems at the elitist and populist levels which are resolved by just and civilized constitutional and governmental mechanisms. One of the various ways to make changes to constitutional legal policy is by making constitutional amendments to the 1945 NRI Constitution. Constitutional amendments to the 1945 NRI Constitution can be seen in the elitist representative legal policy model and the participatory-populist legal policy model. The battle of issues and problems as well as solutions based on representative-elitist legal policy versus populist participatory legal policy will create positive things (constructive nation-building in all fields) and negative things (destructive constitutional movements that destroy the foundations of the unitary state). Anticipating the occurrence of negative things will make the constitutional amendment run smoothly and all parties can accept it openly.

The Genesis of the Afghan Mashrūṭah Movement

This article studies the global and transnational history of the Afghan constitutionalist (mashrūṭah) movement in the early twentieth century. It aims to contribute to the intellectual history of Afghanistan and examine it within the history of modernity, Islam, and reforms in the region, particularly in the late Ottoman Empire. It rejects the notion that the Afghan mashrūṭah movement was an indistinct group of people with a unitary ideology and argues that the Afghan mashrūṭah was an intellectually, socially, ethnically, politically diverse and complex movement, the product of intellectual, political, religious, and economic interactions of Afghans with multifaceted global ideologies such as colonialism, nationalism, Ittihad-i Islam, and top-down modernization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

ՊԵՏԱԿԱՆՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԳԱՂԱՓԱՐԻ ՀՈԼՈՎՈՒՅԹՆ ԱՐԵՎՄՏԱՀԱՅ ԻՐԱԿԱՆՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՄԵՋ ԱԶԳԱՅԻՆ ՍԱՀՄԱՆԱԴՐՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՎԱՎԵՐԱՑՄԱՆ 160-ԱՄՅԱԿԻ ԱՌԹԻՎ

The 30s-50s of the 19th century in the history of Ottoman Empire are known as "Tanzimat", the period of reforms. In that historical period, a group of enlightened Western Armenian intellectuals, influenced by European progressive revolutions and highly educated there, and inspired by liberating ideas, based on the difficult and disastrous situation of the Western Armenians, as well as taking advantage of the difficult external military-political situation created for Turkey in the middle, started the constitutional movement, as a result of which 1860 was developed over the years. On May 24, the National General Assembly after lengthy discussions, editing and reductions adopted a document called "National Constitution" aimed at improving the national-spiritual life of the Western Armenians, which was submitted to the Sultanate government (Bardzr Daran) for ratification, and finally on March 17, 1863, it is approved by the government and became a state law.

Examining the geographical aspects of political movements in Iran (With a look at the background of political uprisings)

The effect of geographical factors on human behavior has been noticed since long ago. Natural elements have always affected human behavior and actions. So that, different weather conditions and differences in the natural environment are effective in causing specific reactions in human behavior. Thinkers and scientists have long been paying attention to the issue of the relationship between the environment and humans. Thinkers, philosophers, politicians, soldiers, and social scientists, from Herodotus and Aristotle to Avicenna, Montesquieu, and Ibn Khaldun, have investigated the relationship between climate and human behavior. In the 5th century BC, the followers of the Hippocratic school proposed the influence of weather and geographical conditions on human habits, ethics, and physiology. In the study of the movements of Iranians, the impact of the climate on behavioral traits and the influence of favorable and motivating geographical foundations are among the factors that have played a role in the formation of movements and rebellions, practical and essential aspects. The absolute and relative position of the geographical area of Iran is such that it has made a crossroads as the center of attacks, military wars, and cultural encounters. On the national scale, Iran's natural and geographical features have also been the cause of its social diversity. Therefore, the biological and geographical diversity that has caused social diversity has given a special and unique identity to the communities of different geographical regions. In such a situation, the main actors of the constitutional movement have been the motivation for other geographical areas and ethnic groups to improve Iran's status and participate in power.

روحانیت و چرخش قرن: از روحانیت بر قدرت تا روحانیت در قدرت

This article examines the development of the clergy in the fourteenth SH century. The foundations of this institution date back to the time of the Safavids, who, upon ascending to power and establishing Shiism as the state religion, laid the groundwork for the establishment of this institution to legitimize the monarchy. After this period until the success of the Iranian revolution in 1979, this institution and its relationship to political power and social movements have seen enormous upheavals and transformations. To facilitate comprehension of these developments, we have split them into two stages. The first stage, spanning the first half of the fourteenth century, begins with the defeat of the constitutional movement and continues with the foundation of the Pahlavi regime. In this era, the clergy confronts the modern world and its values, forcing them to reconsider the relationship between religion and the modern world. For some, the wind of modernity, and for others, the storm of this event, prompted the clergy to consider sustaining its institution. The establishment of Ayatollah Haeri Yazdi in Qom and the establishment of the Qom seminary played a significant role in the stabilization of this institution in the 14th SH century. The first event was the attempt to transfer the center of clergy and marja’iyyat from Najaf to Qom, which began with the establishment of the Qom seminary. The second event was the death of Ayatollah Borujerdi in 1340 SH, which precipitated a crisis of marja’iyyat within the clerical institution and gradually paved the way for the ascension of Ayatollah Khomeini and the foundation of his power. The clergy was put to a new test with the success of the Iranian revolution and the installation of the theocracy, which marked the beginning of the second stage. In the second half of the 14th century, beginning in the 1360s SH, the institution of the clergy formed a government that controlled political authority and depended on political power to establish Sharia law. The article examines religious fundamentalism led by Misbah Yazdi, who favored the implementation of Sharia law, as well as Muslim reformers or neo-thinkers who wished to activate the republic and implement modern procedures within the government and the clergy. The article focuses on presenting the perspectives of two mujtahids from outside the government, Mehdi Haeri Yazdi and Seyyed Kamal Heydari, who support the participation of the people in government and their representation in the occultation era.

Исследование исторической взаимосвязи между верховенством закона и суверенитетом религиозного права в конституционно-правовой системе Ирана

Studying the relationship between the rule of law and sovereignty of religious law has always been considered one of the most controversial issues. This is even more conspicuous in the Constitutional Revolution which was the result of the coalition of religious and modernist forces. Religious forces supported the Constitutional Movement with apparent such as establishing the desired system of government to implement the religious rules and stop the interference and domination of foreigners over the country, while the modernists fought for the realization of ideas such as constitutionalism, freedom and, in a nutshell, the establishment of a modern government. The Constitutional Movement and the compliance of the ruling system with the public demand to have a more substantial role in the decision-making processes while transitioning from the traditional era and approaching a certain level of modernity, inevitably, caused numerous intellectual challenges; the pre-Constitutional power structure was quite traditional and after the Constitutional Revolution, the tendency towards “law” and the centrality of “parliament” in limiting the authority of the king became the subject of profound controversy, resulting in theorizations about the possibility or impossibility of the coexistence of tradition and modernity, and hence, the rejection or acceptance of peaceful coexistence of the manifestations of the two concepts - the religion and the law. The present article seeks to examine the relationship between the rule of law and sovereignty of religious law in the Constitutional legal system.

Social and Political Foundations of Constitutionalism in the Middle East: The First Constitutional Movements in Tunisia, Ottoman Turkey, Egypt, and Iran

Although constitutionalism movements have their roots in the efforts to limit the power of European monarchies beginning with Magna Carta, constitutionalism in the modern sense is the product of the global political and social conditions created by the French Revolution of 1789. In the 19th century, when empires struggled for power in Europe and global economic crises shook the world, constitutionalism appeared as a solution to these crises. In this context, in addition to global constitutional revolutions such as in Japan, Russia, Mexico, and China, the “Eastern” and Muslim societies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) also struggled for their constitutional movements. Although they could not satisfy the expectations as a result of domestic and regional circumstances, the first constitutional movements in Tunisia (1861), Ottoman Turkey (1876), Egypt (1881), and Iran (1905) provided road maps for the modern nation-states of the following years. This study examines these constitutionalism movements in order to understand their social, political, and economic dynamics and organizational mechanisms, as well as their impact on today’s Middle Eastern politics.

The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Middle Eastern and North African History

The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Middle Eastern and North African History

Divine vs. Human Law: The Quarrel between the Anti- and Pro-Constitutionalist Jurists in Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906

This study investigated the quarrel between the pro-and anti-constitutionalist jurists following the establishment of the first National Consultative Assembly (Majlis) in Iran and the drafting of the first constitution in 1906. A group of shi῾ite jurists launched an attack on Majlis, in addition to the ideas of human legislation, freedom, and equality, by considering the Islamic Sharī῾a law to be a set of perfect and impeccable laws. In response to these oppositions, the pro-constitutional jurists argued in favor of the constitutional movement. In this paper, it is argued that the quarrel could be considered as evidence for the perennial tension between the divine and human law in Islam. It appears that examining this conflict may shed light on incidents shaping the history of contemporary Iran.

Evolução filosófica do conceito de dignidade humana

This research deals with the theme today called human dignity, but which will sometimes be treated only as human dignity or dignity. This variation is due to the periods and authors covered. Hence the general objective: to analyze the historical-philosophical evolution of the concept of human dignity. Thus, the following problem arises to be elucidated: how did the historical and philosophical evolution of the idea of ​​human dignity take place, in the authors chosen as maximum representatives of their time? And, in the face of such a problem, the evolution of the concept of human dignity in the West will be investigated, starting from antiquity to contemporary times, seeking to work with the most relevant authors and works that contributed to the construction of the theme concept of this research. In addition, it is intended to investigate the importance of human dignity today, at the international level. The choice of such a theme is justified by the fact that the concept of “human dignity” has become the “principle of principles” of many modern legal systems. To carry out the research, Bibliographic Research was used. From this article, it is possible to understand each historical and philosophical step that contributed to the formation of the concept of human dignity, which today has a universal character and embraces everyone in the human family. That is, it is clear, through this research, that the concept widely used in the legal world as a supra-principle, did not appear in the post-World War II era, it was only there that it definitively migrated to the legal world, but that the concept arose and has been debated for more than two millennia. In this sense, it is also noted that the dignity of the human person was not always attributed to all specimens of the human race, and that for most of the time of its construction, the dignity belonged to specific groups of societies, now linked to honor , now linked to titles of nobility, now to the person whose life was led according to divine teachings. Only in Kant was the dignity of the human person consecrated as an inherent attribute of every rational being, and even later, with the constitutionalist movement of the second half of the twentieth century, that this concept migrates to Law and starts to protect man not only with its moral content, but also with its normative content.

Роль шиитского духовенства в Конституционном движении на первом этапе первой Иранской революции 1905–1911 гг.

The article highlights the history of the development of the Constitutional Movement in Iran in 1905-1906, i.e. in the first period of the Iranian Revolution of 1905–1911, and the participa-tion of the Shiite clergy in it. Shiite clergy, dissatisfied with the attempt of the Shah and his entou-rage to weaken their rights in the area of legal proceedings, as well as with the government's policy aimed at “Europeanizing” Iran, took an active part in the protest movement. The article reflects the period of the emergence of secret revolutionary societies in the country, created by representatives of advanced bourgeois intelligentsia of Iran. The leaders of Shiite clergy joined them, and later began to create and lead such societies themselves. The author focuses on the role and influence of Shiite clergy in the revolutionary activities of various secret societies, such as “Enjomene Mahfi”, which included the main leaders of Shiite clergy of Tehran: Ayatollah Sayyid Abdollah Behbehani and Said Mohammed Tabatabai, politician M. Kermani and others. These organizations carried out a great deal of work among the believers: they published political leaflets, appeals to the Iranian people, called on the people to speak out against the Shah's tyranny and European penetration. The revolu-tion showed the potential of Shiite clergy as an active factor in the socio-political history of Iran.

The ‘common good’ spirituality of Louis-Joseph Lebret and his influence in the Constitution and development thinking in Brazil

ABSTRACT This article presents how the Dominican friar Louis-Joseph Lebret had influence in Brazilian social thought and development policies throughout the country, influencing even a pro-democracy constitutionalist movement in the 1980s. His spirituality of the common good influenced the Brazilian Catholic Action movement, the emergence of various other social movements and the basic ecclesial communities (CEBs). Further, by offering new analytical tools and forming research groups focused on social impact and social development Lebret influenced an emerging social thinking that produced empirical research for human development on various subjects. This was through his Economy and Humanism movement that Lebret brought to Brazil in the 1940s and through the creation of SAGMACS (Association for Graphic and Mechanic-Graphic Analysis Applied to Social Complexes). The combination of technical and empirical knowledge about human development with a mystique of the common good linked to the Catholic Action movement was inspiring for the Catholic intellectuals who joined Lebret's group and later became important political figures in Brazil. Lebret brought an original perspective that influenced the very notion of what development is, based on the understanding of economy as an instrument for human development, which was to some extent incorporated in the current Brazilian Constitution.

International environmental law and its legal implication

The objective of the work is to offer a reflection of the place that international environmental law occupies as and its influence so that, at the internal level of the countries, binding norms are adopted, in the interest of environmental protection. The relevance of environmental law consists of the need to achieve regulatory solutions, to the pressure to which environmental systems are subjected. It is necessary to regulate the behaviors that imply consequences on the environment, to be managed through the law as legal norms that ensure respect for nature and achieve sustainable development. The analysis is carried out in a temporary context of 30 years, since the branch of law emerged on an international scale, with the constitutional movement in some Latin American countries and especially in Ecuador. For this, the comparative legal method was applied and the Desk Research method of investigation was used for the bibliographic review. The influence of international norms for the current development of Ecuadorian environmental law is exposed.