Constitutionalism is a modern concept which stands for the supremacy law and not of individuals. Constitutionalism in this way desires a political order in which the powers of the government are limited. The rise constitutional state is essentially an historical process and is the result of long drawn struggle against monarchy, absolutism and feudalism. Such struggle mostly took place in the western countries and subsequently spread to different countries of the world.
Some form of constitutionalism did exist in the ancient Greek and Roman city states. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle stud constitutionalism from purely a normative and moral stand point. With establishment of great Roman empires, constitutionalism got further impetus.
Despite irresponsible autocracy which prevailed in Roman empires, Roman constitutionalism made important contributions to the development of this concept. A great change took place after the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the 6th century A.D. The middle ages which followed it, was mostly an era of feudalism.
The dominance of Christianity or the churches over the political system was the hallmark of this period. The ideas of political thinkers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas made secular authority subservient to the authority of the church. The authority of the Pope over all secular and religions heads of the Christian world was established.
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It was only after nearly 800 years, the national monarchs raised their heads to overthrow the hold of Papacy. The Renaissance and Reformation in the European countries marked the reemergence of humanistic and scientific outlook. It destroyed the medieval concept of universalism and scholasticism and helped in the creation of ‘modern secular and sovereign national states.
However, it is pertinent to note that this period witnessed the emergence of absolute monarchy which retarded the pace of constitution state. As a result, papacy declined, but in its place were established absolute monarchical rules in England, France, Italy, Spain and Prussia.
Inspite of the fact that the Renaissance state was not truly constitutional and democratic, the actual growth of modern constitutional state emerged here, Britain occupied the most significant place in the development of constitutionalism.
The civil war of 1640-48 followed by the glorious revolution of 1688 confirmed the sovereignty of the people. With the enactment of various reform acts subsequently, what Dicey calls the “rule of law” became the cardinal principle of British political system. France was also significantly affected by the wave of constitutionalism.
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Ignited by the ‘social contract’ of Rousseau, the French revolution paved the way for the establishment of constitutional government. Though France witnessed rise and fall of several unstable monarchies subsequently, it finally embarked upon the path of constitutional government. The United States also made significant contribution in this regard. The ‘Declaration of Independence’ of 1776 categorically asserted the democratic right of the people and supremacy of the constitution.
The post first world war period, contrary to the expectation, witnessed the emergence of authoritarian reactions against constitutionalism in the form of communism in Russia, Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany. However, one remarkable aspect of this period was the establishment of the League of Nations which aimed at constitutional resolution of conflicts among nations.
The Second World War witnessed the destruction of dictatorship in Italy, Germany and Japan. The only model that survived as an alternative to western constitutionalism was communist model of the erstwhile Soviet Union. The post Second World War period also was marked by the progress of democratization and emergence of a numbers of third world countries. This period was the period of bipolar world.
As a result these newly independent countries either opted for the western or the Soviet model those which opted for the western model also had two options. Either to accept British or the American model. Whatever it may be, the fact remains that constitutionalism made a vigorous march during this period and today we find most of the countries have adopted democracy and constitutionalism as the accepted principle. With the collapse of communist empire and virtual end of colonialism and racism, constitutionalism has been the go of the world.