Constitution-building offers no headlines – but what it can do, history tells us, is stop hundreds of thousands of people dyingSyria is reportedly sliding back towards civil war, as its various factions demand devolved authority. It is at root the same issue, that of local autonomy, that led to regional unrest in Ukraine and splintered leadership in Palestine. It underlies the devastating conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All these places are flush with guns, allies and bombast. What they lack are national constitutions that allow their citizens sufficient local control to live at peace with others in one nation. They lack the skills of political federation.The present Ukraine war followed the failure of peace accords reached in Minsk in 2014 and 2015; critically, they depended on the technical details of how self-determination was to be allowed in eastern Ukraine. A later failure was that of the Istanbul deal after the Russian invasion in 2022. It appeare...
According to Simon Jenkins in The Guardian, achieving lasting peace in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as conflict zones like Syria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, hinges on establishing national constitutions that guarantee local autonomy and power-sharing among various factions.
