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This volume focuses on the making, nature, and role of the first modern constitutions at the founding of the modern nation-states in Southeast Asia. These historical essays add richly to our understanding and appreciation of the founding moments and to the theory and practice of constitutionalism in these states. This volume makes three significant contributions. First, it helps plug the wide knowledge gap in comparative constitutional history in Southeast Asia. Second, it furthers our understanding of contemporary constitutional practice and also anticipates possible developmental trajectories in light of the foundational values embedded in and manifested through these constitutions. Third, through the comparative historical study of these early constitutions, plausible theoretical insights may be gained to further our understanding of Southeast Asia's constitutional history. The book is essential reading for those wishing to obtain a deeper understanding of the constitutional foundings of Southeast Asia.
List of contents
1. Southeast Asian Constitutional Foundings: A Constitutional-History Perspective
Kevin YL Tan and Bui Ngoc Son
2. Keeping Close to Shore: Preserving Colonial Legacies in the 1935 Philippine Constitution
Leia Castañeda Anastacio
3. The Origins of the 1945 Indonesian Constitution
Koichi Kawamura
4. Timor-Leste’s Post-Revolutionary Constitution: From Foundations to Practice
Leigh-Ashley Lipscomb
5. The Making of Myanmar’s 1947 Constitution: Geography, Ethnicity, and Law
Maitrii Aung-Thwin
6. A Foreign Commission for Domestic Needs: The Constitutional Founding of Malaysia
H Kumarasingham
7. Foundational Moments: The ‘Singapore Constitution’
Kevin YL Tan
8. The Making of Brunei’s 1959 Constitution
BA Hussainmiya
9. Not Meant to Last: Vietnam’s First Constitution
Stein Tønnesson
10. The Lao Constitution of 1947/1949: Creating a Nation-State
Martin Stuart-Fox
11. The First Constitution-Making in Cambodia: Colonialism, Modernism, Nationalism and the Implications
Teilee Kuong
12. The 1932 Compromise Constitution: Matrix of Thailand’s Permanent Constitutional Instability
Eugenie Mérieau
About the author
Kevin YL Tan is a leading scholar of Singapore's constitution and has written and edited over 30 books on the law, politics and history of Singapore. He is currently Adjunct Professor at both the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He is also Executive Editor of the Asian Journal of Comparative Law and Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Yearbook of International Law.Ngoc Son Bui is Professor of Asian Laws at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, UK.
Summary
This volume focuses on the making, nature, and role of the first modern constitutions at the founding of the modern nation-states in Southeast Asia. These historical essays add richly to our understanding and appreciation of the founding moments and to the theory and practice of constitutionalism in these states. This volume makes three significant contributions. First, it helps plug the wide knowledge gap in comparative constitutional history in Southeast Asia. Second, it furthers our understanding of contemporary constitutional practice and also anticipates possible developmental trajectories in light of the foundational values embedded in and manifested through these constitutions. Third, through the comparative historical study of these early constitutions, plausible theoretical insights may be gained to further our understanding of Southeast Asia’s constitutional history. The book is essential reading for those wishing to obtain a deeper understanding of the constitutional foundings of Southeast Asia.
Foreword
An important collection of essays exploring the founding of constitutions in Southeast Asian states, featuring contributions by leading scholars.
