Pathways of Constitutional Development in Asia: A Comparative Study of Five Major Nations

Abstract

The pathways of constitutional development taken by the five major Asian nations of India, China, Korea, Japan and Indonesia have been different.Does constitutionalism in the form it has evolved in the West have any universal appeal and application far beyond the Western nations in which it originated? Are there distinctly Asian forms of constitutionalism or political-constitutional practices? A macro-historical and comparative review of constitutional developments in these five nations from the late 19th century up to the present suggests that constitutionalism has significantly broadened and deepened its reach in Asia in modern and contemporary times. It also suggests that no distinctly Asian mode of constitutionalism or political-constitutional practices can be identified. Nor is there evidence that Asian culture and values are particularly resistant to constitutionalism. On the contrary, there is evidence that whether constitutionalism prevails in a particular jurisdiction is determined more by politics and the contingency of historical events such as wars and foreign interventions than by culture and values.

作為亞洲五國的中國、印度、南北韓(韓國和朝鮮)、日本與印度尼西亞憲政發展道路各有不同。究竟源于西方社會的憲政模式是否在其發源地以外也具有普遍適用性?亞洲又是否存在特殊的憲政模式或政治體制?如果我們從宏觀歷史與比較研究的角度審視這五國自十九世紀末直到今天的發展,便可發現,在現代和當代時期,憲政主義在亞洲還是產生了深遠的影響。但是,亞洲似乎沒有產生特殊的'亞洲式'的憲政模式或政治體制,也沒有足夠證據顯示亞洲的文化與價值觀念與憲政主義難以相容。恰恰相反,憲政主義能否在某一國家或地區得以實施,似乎更多地取決于政治因素,以及戰爭、外國干預等具偶然性的歷史事件的影響,而不是主要取決于文化與價值觀念。