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Participation and support for the constitution in Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2006

Devra C. Moehler
Devra C. Moehler
Affiliation:
Department of Government, Cornell University, and Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies.
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Abstract

A major challenge for transitioning states is to create a constituency of citizens to support and defend the new constitution. Participatory constitution-making is one of the most often recommended methods for enhancing constitutional legitimacy. This research tests the claim that public participation in the Ugandan constitution-making process built support for the 1995 constitution. Contrary to expectations, multivariate analysis of survey data demonstrates that citizens who were active in the process were no more supportive of the constitution than those who stayed at home. In-depth interviews reveal that local political leaders, not participation, caused citizens to view the constitution as legitimate or illegitimate. Constitutions are difficult for citizens to evaluate, so they rely on political elites for information and opinions. To predict whether participation will strengthen or weaken constitutional support, we must examine the messages that elites communicate to citizens about their participation, the process, and the resulting constitution.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 275 - 308
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank Jennifer Widner, Nancy Burns, Mark Tessler, Chris Way, Valerie Bunce, Sid Tarrow, Michael Bratton, James Gibson, participants of research seminars at University of Michigan and Cornell, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. The research and writing was carried out with the financial support of NSF, Fulbright IIE, University of Michigan, Cornell University, and Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies.