When Talk Trumps Text: How Participatory Deliberation on New Constitutions Advances Democratization

This article explores how the level of citizen participation in making new constitutions impacts subsequent levels of democracy. Using data covering all 132 new constitutions in 118 countries between 1974 and 2011, the article shows that while democracy levels did increase in 62 countries following the promulgation of a new constitution, they decreased or stayed the same in 70 others.  The article explains this divergence through empirical tests showing that increased participation positively impacts levels of post-promulgation democracy.