Constitutionalism as a “Resource”. A constitutional approach to the development debate

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that cooperation for development may be seen as a technique of 'second-modernity' constitutionalism. I base this argument on the developmental goal of correcting the asymmetries produced by economic globalisation and on the idea of development policies as a process of emancipation of the person, especially as far as concerns the latest generation of such policies. Conditionality policies may be understood as an attempt to translate the development discourse from the mere economic level to a more comprehensive level, including human rights. This tension in the new cooperation for development policies – conceived as a vehicle to extend and affirm constitutional goods such as human rights – inevitably have paved the way for a constitutional approach to such issues. This paper focuses on the possible consequences of a constitutional approach to the development debate.