Constitutions of
the World

By Albert P. Blaustein

Constitutionalism can be traced back at least to Plato and Aristotle. But modern contitutionalism began in 1638, when four Connecticut river plantations created a constitution and a political state.

Since then, virtually every country in the world has adopted a constitution: a written plan of government. Only three democratic countries - The United Kingdom, Israel, and New Zealand - have yet to adopt a single-document constitution. Three others - Oman, Libya, and Saudi Arabia - claim the Holy Qu'ran (Muslim scripture) as their constitutions.

The U.S. Constitution, written in 1787, was the first national constitution, and the most influential of all. Yet fourteen state constitutions preceded it. Poland's constitution was second, in 1791, and France was third (four months later). Only 13 existing constitutions, were written before World War II; more than two-thirds have been written since 1970. The U.S. Constitution is the most long-lived; at the other extreme, the Dominican Republic adopted 31 constitutions between 1844 and 1966.

ABOUT THE NARRATOR AND AUTHOR:
The late, Albert P. Blaustein, was considered one of the world's foremost experts on international constitutionalism. He consulted to draft constitutions for Zimbabwe, Liberia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Peru and Fiji. He also advised Poland, South Africa, Hungary, Romania, Niger, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago with their constitiutions. His credits also include co-editor of an encyclopedic 20-volume collection, Constitutions of the Countries of the World.

On two audiotapes
Run Time: About three hours total.
Narrated and written by:
Professor Albert P. Blaustein
Publisher: Knowledge Products, Inc.