Comments on: US drafted constitutions?

Question: US drafted constitutions?

sublivious — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 14:46:23 -0800

Besides Japan and Iraq, what other countries have constitutions that were drafted either by or under the direction or assistance of the U.S. (or allied occupation made up of at least the U.S.)?

I'm curious in light of Japan revising Article 9 of their constitution which "bars the use of military force in settling international disputes," and the drafting or Iraq's interrim constitution. Has the U.S. been responsible for helping any other countries draft their constitutions especially in circumstances like present-day Iraq and circa 1947 Japan?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:09:31 -0800

I don't know of any other cases.

By: Count Ziggurat

Count Ziggurat — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:23:55 -0800

Afghanistan.

By: Count Ziggurat

Count Ziggurat — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:27:38 -0800

And Panama.

By: fatbobsmith

fatbobsmith — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 15:28:05 -0800

A few possibles, depending on your frame of reference:

Liberia
Cuba after the Spanish-American War of 1898
Germany
Afghanistan
South Korea

Of course, you might also include nations that later became states, such as Hawaii.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 16:10:26 -0800

greece? (only 50% sure)

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 16:23:48 -0800

(after googling around). no, not really, although they had an american sponsored regime for some time. maybe i'm thinking of italy? i'm sure i've heard someone argue that a southern european state has frequent elections because the americans, post-war (II), fixed the constitution so that communists (and everyone else) couldn't have a large majority.

By: gyc

gyc — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 16:33:27 -0800

I know that many eastern european and former soviet countries had help from American law professors in drafting constitutions. Does that constitute U.S. help or are you looking for direct governmental assistance?

By: bright cold day

bright cold day — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 16:58:13 -0800

You might also want to check U.S. influence on The Philippines during the period following the War with Spain (1898) up until independence in 1946.

By: Tawita

Tawita — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 17:06:55 -0800

What about the former US Trust Territories of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands? They all gained independence in the 1980s, and I'm sure that the US would have had a hand in drafting their constitutions.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 01:54:11 -0800

fatbob has some obvious ones; a few more are

Haiti
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic

Austria would be another one to look at; it was under 4-power occupation as well, although for a shorter period of time than Germany.

Note that neither Italy nor Greece were occupied by the US after the war.

For counterexamples, the Former Soviet Republics, the Warsaw Pact nations, and the parts of former Yugoslavia have all had extensive international assistance with their constitutions, in some cases under the auspices of the UN. So have places like Cambodia and most recently Somalia. Afghanistan, too -- though the US undoubtedly had heavy influence, the process was open and international by comparison with the Iraqi constitution.

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 03:19:37 -0800

andrew cooke, I may have heard something similar about Italy in a documentary on the assassination of Aldo Moro. I can't remember any specifics though...

By: dhartung

dhartung — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:03:21 -0800

The OSS/CIA and right-wing elements in Europe certainly conspired in that regard, but it's by no means the same thing as a constitution written by an occupying power.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 10:48:28 -0800

dhartung - the question said "under the direction or assistance" so i'm not sure where you get "written by an occupying power" from.