Nations and States: Readings and Links

Suggested Reading

Aristotle. Politics. Translated by C. D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.

This important work includes a detailed discussion of how constitutions are defined and explains what results different types of constitutions have.

Bakvis, Herman, and William M. Chandler. Federalism and the Role of the State. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.

A study of the way federalism affects governing.

Goldwin, Robert A., Art Kaufman, and William A. Schambra, eds. Forging Unity Out of Diversity: The Approaches of Eight Nations. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1989.

A comparative analysis of how countries deal with ethnic and religious differences.

Montesquieu, Baron de. The Spirit of the Laws. Translated by Ann M. Cohler, Basta C. Miller, and Harold Stone. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Montesquieu was one of the most influential theorists of laws and constitutions in the Western world.

McDonald, Forrest. E Pluribus Unum: The Formation of the American Republic, 1776–1790. Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1979.

A good account of the difficulties of writing a constitution in the United States. It also includes a history of the Articles of Confederation.

Reich, Robert. The Work of Nations. Reprint, New York: Vintage, 1992.

Reich argues that national borders mean very little in the global economy and that nations need to adopt new ways of thinking about the international system.

Riker, William. Federalism: Origin, Operation, Significance. Boston: Little, Brown, 1964.

A valuable account of federalism.

Sunstein, Cass R. Designing Democracy: What Constitutions Do. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

A good account of the importance of sound constitutions in creating a democratic state.

Useful Websites

www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/toc.html

Analysis and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

http://archives.gov/historical-docs

Online facsimiles and information about some of the nation’s most important historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase.

www.europa.eu