We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
from Part I - The Founding of Democratic States
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 October 2022
Although commonly considered to be the birthplace of constitutional liberty and democratic rights, England did not have a distinct founding moment in which the people consented to the creation of a state. Such moments, I have argued, presume a people (as those who can and must consent to the creation of a state), a transcendent social purpose (that animates the state at and after the founding), and a leader (as the person and/or party that both articulates that social purpose and calls the people forth into mutual consultation). Perhaps paradoxically, these elements are often more apparent in the founding of otherwise non-democratic states than they are in democratic states. And nowhere are they more ambiguous than in the founding of what became English democracy.1 In fact, the emergence of the English people, recognition of their immanent social purpose, and the creation of the English Constitution have been more or less intentionally shrouded in the mists of history.2
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
