Montesquieu on Federalism and Anglo-Gothic Constitutionalism

Lee Ward

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol. 37, issue 4, 551-577

Abstract: The common perception that Montesquieu is not a major theorist of federalism is due both to the peripheral nature of his account of confederate republics and his praise of the unitary British Constitution in the Spirit of the Laws. This study challenges this view by arguing that, despite his endorsement of the separation of powers, Montesquieu had serious reservations about England's highly centralized system of parliamentary sovereignty. Moreover, his most significant reflections on federalism were not contained in his brief treatment of confederate republics, but rather in his lengthy consideration of Gothic constitutionalism. I conclude that Montesquieu's complex constitutional theory involves two distinct dimensions including both the separation of powers exemplified in England and the federal principles in the decentralized Gothic system of medieval France. Copyright , Oxford University Press.

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