Law and Politics of Constitution Making

Eduardo Alemán (PhD, Political Science, UCLA) is Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston, USA. His research focuses on the comparative analysis of political institutions and Latin American politics.Sebastián Soto Velasco (LLM, Columbia University, and PhD Law, Universidad de Chile) is Associate Professor at the Law School of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and researcher in the Centro de Estudios Públicos (CEP). In the second constitutional process, he served as Vice-President of the Expert Committee (2023).

'Chile’s two recent attempts to draft a new constitution were among the world’s most closely watched and consequential constitutional developments of the past decade. Both drafting processes were thoughtfully designed and highly participatory, yet ultimately unsuccessful. The Law and Politics of Constitution Making: Lessons from Chile brings together reflections from leading constitutional scholars, social scientists, and direct participants in those efforts. The volume offers the most comprehensive examination to date of what transpired, why it failed, and what the world can learn from Chile’s experience.Adam Chilton, Dean and Howard G. Krane Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School'This interdisciplinary volume provides extraordinary insight into Chile’s two recent failed constitution-making episodes, including perspectives by leading academic experts and insiders to both processes. This is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in understanding the Chilean processes, and the complexities of constitutional change more broadly.'David Landau, Tobias Simon Eminent Scholar Chair, Florida State University College of Law'This book is a major contribution to global understanding of the challenges of making a new Constitution in the 21st century. Written by Chile specialists from diverse perspectives, it demonstrates how social, political, and legal context shape processes and determine outcomes. A fascinating study; not to be missed.'Cheryl Saunders, Laureate Professor Emeritus, University of Melbourne, Australia'The Law and Politics of Constitution Making is a remarkable book: It focuses on the most spectacular, highlighted, iterated, and aborted process of constitutional revision and replacement of the twenty-first century. It involves the positions and analyses of academics, experts, and practitioners. It covers the different stages of the project. It explains how the agenda setters (constitution-making bodies) selected extreme political proposals which led to two rejections of constitutional drafts and the final survival of the Pinochet constitution after its solid rejection by referendum by the Chilean people. A book highlighting the fascinating details of a very controversial and complicated political process.'George Tsebelis, Anatol Rapoport Collegiate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan, USA

• Introduction: Analyzing Chile’s Constitution-Making Processes (Eduardo Alemán and Sebastián Soto Velasco) Part I: Political Context and Institutional Design 1. Toward an Understanding of the Economic Forces Behind Chile’s Estallido Social (Arturo Fontaine and Sergio Urzúa) 2. Chile´s Constitutional Processes in Comparative Perspective (Gabriel L. Negretto and Eugenia Artabe) 3. Citizen Participation in Constitutional Processes: Chile’s Experience (2015-2023) (Francisco Soto Barrientos) 4. Constitution-Making and Its Discontents: When Political Context Undermines Institutional Designs (Eduardo Alemán and Gabriel L. Negretto) Part II: Perspectives from Constitution Makers 5. The Constitutional Convention: The View of a Progressive Independent Delegate (Tammy Pustilnick Arditi) 6. The Constitutional Convention: The Experience of a Right-Liberal Delegate (Hernán Larraín Matte) 7. Constitutional Council: Insights from a New Left Reformer (María Pardo-Vergara) 8. Constitutional Council: Reflections from a New Right Architect (Luis Silva) Part III: Substantive Debates and Draft Content 9. Principles: Disagreements and Consensus and Their Impact on Constitutionalism (Catalina Salem) 10. Expanding the Catalog of Rights in Chile’s Constitutional Processes: When New Rights Open New Risks (Sebastián Soto Velasco) 11. The Long Road to Recognition: Indigenous Peoples and Constituent Processes in Chile (Manuel Núñez and Alejandra Precht) 12. Reforming the Judiciary and Constitutional Tribunal (Lydia Brashear Tiede) 13. Recrafting the Political System: The Endurance of Chile’s Presidentialism (Andrés Dockendorff, Christopher A. Martínez, and Rocío Saez-Vergara) Part IV: Empirical Perspectives on Behavior and Attitudes 14. Out with the Old, Out with the New: Vote Choice During the Constitution-Making Period in Chile (Eduardo Alemán, José M. Cabezas and Ernesto Calvo) 15. Roll Call Votes in the Constitutional Writing Processes in Chile, 2021-2023 (Patricio Navia and Francisco Roldán) 16. Beyond Parties: Assessing Ideological Representation in the Chilean Constitutional Convention (Jorge Fábrega) 17. Switching Off: Political Attention and News Consumption in 2022 Referendum (Carolina F.T. Batista and Ernesto Calvo) 18. Conclusions (Eduardo Alemán and Sebastián Soto Velasco)