Public participation in constitutional reform can play a key role in legitimizing and constructing a lasting constitution. However, few resources have been invested in determining why exactly this is, and what factors should be considered... more
Public participation in constitutional reform can play a key role in legitimizing and constructing a lasting constitution. However, few resources have been invested in determining why exactly this is, and what factors should be considered when designing such a process. This paper tackles these difficult questions, investigating the justifications for including public participation in constitutional reform processes and outlining the factors that seem to be the most important to consider when creating a public participation program. After examining how public participation programs were run in Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa during their periods of constitutional reform, the paper then turns to outlining a design for a public participation mechanism for Liberia's current reform processes.
