Transnational Constitutions

This paper develops and empirically tests the novel hypothesis that constitutions are also shaped by transnational influence, or “diffusion.” The authors identify four mechanisms for the diffusion of constitutional principles: coercion, competition, learning and acculturation. The paper's results show that countries follow the choices of their former colonizer, countries with the same legal origin, the same religion, the same former colonizer and the same aid donor. These transnational influences are strongest when a nation adopts its first constitution.