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Drafting a Constitution for a “Country of words” 1

Drafting a Constitution for a “Country of words” 1 Can words – rather than a State (or army) – constitute a country? It may be made of land, rivers, forests or deserts – yet, without its inhabitants’ words, there would be no map to draw, no tale to sing, no country to speak of. Palestinian tales abound. They speak of departed lands, vanished homes, forfeited livelihoods. They lament internal wrangling, squeal occupational anger, seek to whisper away those quotidian checkpoint humiliations. Yet, they also speak of hope. If there ever were such a thing as “authoritative hope”, the ongoing Palestinian constitution drafting process may be it. But hope cannot be formalized, let alone authorized. And there is some danger in pretending otherwise. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Middle East Law and Governance Brill

Drafting a Constitution for a “Country of words” 1

Delacroix, Sylvie
Middle East Law and Governance , Volume 4 (2-3): 306 – Jan 1, 2012
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References (10)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2012 by Koninklijke Brill N.V., Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Articles
ISSN
1876-3367
eISSN
1876-3375
DOI
10.1163/18763375-00403001
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Can words – rather than a State (or army) – constitute a country? It may be made of land, rivers, forests or deserts – yet, without its inhabitants’ words, there would be no map to draw, no tale to sing, no country to speak of. Palestinian tales abound. They speak of departed lands, vanished homes, forfeited livelihoods. They lament internal wrangling, squeal occupational anger, seek to whisper away those quotidian checkpoint humiliations. Yet, they also speak of hope. If there ever were such a thing as “authoritative hope”, the ongoing Palestinian constitution drafting process may be it. But hope cannot be formalized, let alone authorized. And there is some danger in pretending otherwise.

Journal

Middle East Law and Governance – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2012

Keywords: Palestinian constitution; custom; urf; self-determination; popular representation; sovereignty; legitimacy; Gandhi; home rule; Oslo Agreements; legal pluralism

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