The Preamble in Constitutional Endurance: Preambular Content and Its Effect on the Lifespan of National Constitutions

Why do some constitutions endure longer than others? This is the question the author attempts to answer in this paper by examining the role that preambles play in constitutions. The author situates preambles as a site of intense political controversy, given that they are being written and are often cited in political rhetoric. But do they have any actual effect on how a constitution operates in society or how long it lasts? To answer this question, the author utilizes a Cox Proportional Hazard to examine an original data set of preambles drawn from the constitutions housed within the Comparative Constitutions Project. Numerous variables that may have affected the endurance of the constitutions as a whole were coded in each of the preambles. In total, the dataset and statistical model include 405 constitutions. She finds that, consistent with previous research on constitutions generally, the year in which a preamble was drafted affects constitutional endurance. Additionally, preambles referencing the constitution\u27s drafting process are associated with reduced constitutional lifespan, while those that reference international legal instruments are likely to last longer