Constitutionalism | Middle East Constitutional Forum

The Risks of Semi-Presidentialism in Emerging Democracies (with Mr. Duncan Pickard)

The issue of the division of power is the most fundamental unresolved question in the draft constitution. This paper discusses why a semi-presidential system is not suited to Tunisia.

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Noah Feldman, Professor of International Law, Harvard University

Noah Feldman is the Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard University as well as a Senior Fellow of the Society of Fellows. He is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the Bloomberg View as well as a Senior Fellow of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. In 2003 he served as senior constitutional advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and subsequently advised members of the Iraqi Governing Council on the drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law or interim constitution. He served as a law clerk to Justice David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court (1998 – 1999). He received his A.B. summa cum laude in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University in 1992, finishing first in his class. Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a D. Phil. in Islamic Thought from Oxford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School, serving as Book Reviews Editor of the Yale Law Journal. He is the author of five books: the recent award winning and acclaimed Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR’s Great Justices (Twelve, 2010). The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State (Princeton University Press, 2008); Divided by God: America’s Church- State Problem and What We Should Do About It (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005); What We Owe Iraq: War and Ethics of Nation Building (Princeton University Press, 2004); After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003).

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Prof. Nathan Brown

September 25, 2012 in e-forum presenters

Islam and Constitutionalism in the Arab World

This audio podcast discusses the relationship between Islam and Constitutionalism since the mid-nineteenth century. It highlights how this relationship has changed in significant ways that is relevant to the current transitional period.

Prof. Nathan Brown interviewed by RN Research Associate Bouchra Chakroune (audio podcast)

Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University and Non-Resident Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Nathan J. Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, is a distinguished scholar and author of six well-received books on Arab politics. Brown brings his special expertise on Islamist movements, Palestinian politics, and Arab law and constitutionalism to the Endowment. Brown’s latest book, When Victory Is Not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics, was published by Cornell University Press in early 2012. His current work focuses on Islamist movements and their role in politics in the Arab world.

In 2009, Brown was named a Carnegie Scholar by the Carnegie Corporation of New York; for the 2009–2010 academic year he is a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. In addition to his academic work Brown has served on advisory committees for Human Rights Watch and the committees drafting the Palestinian and Iraqi constitutions. He has also served as a consultant to USAID, the United Nations Development Program, and several nongovernmental organizations.

Selected Publications: Resuming Arab Palestine (University of California Press, 2003); Constitutions in a Non-Constitutional World: Arab Basic Laws and Prospects for Accountable Government (SUNY Press, 2001); The Rule of Law in the Arab World: Courts in Egypt and the Arab States of the Gulf (Cambridge University Press, 1997)

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Tags: Carnegie, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Constitutional e-Forum, Constitutionalism, George Washington University, International Affairs, Islam and Constitutionalism, Nathan Brown, Tunisia
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