Abstract

The Norwegian Constitution is the oldest functioning constitution in Europe. Its bicentenary in 2014 has inspired the analyses in this volume, where contributors focus on the Constitution as a text to explore new ways of analyzing democratic development. This volume examines the framing of the Norwegian Constitution, its transformations, and its interpretations during the last two centuries. The textual focus enables new understandings of the framers’ negotiations and decisions on a democratic micro level and opens new international and historical contexts to understanding the Norwegian Constitution. By synthesizing knowledge from different realms - law, social sciences, and the humanities – Writing Democracy provides a model for examining the distinct textual qualities of constitutional documents.

“This is an interesting and timely collection of studies of an important document that is all too often neglected by scholars of other countries and traditions.”  ·  Lynn Hunt, UCLA

“Writing Democracy is a marvelous study of textual practices connected to the use of the Norwegian constitution and is thus situated in the engine room of modern Western style democracy.”  ·  Peter Hervik, Aalborg University

Eirik Holmøyvik is a Professor at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has published numerous works on the Norwegian Constitution, including Maktfordeling og 1814 (2012) and Tolkingar av Grunnlova (2013). In 2012 he was a member of the committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament to modernize the Constitution’s language.

Karen Gammelgaard is a Professor at the University of Oslo, Norway. Her publications focus on the interface between text and context and include Transforming National Holidays: Identity Discourse in the West and South Slavic Countries, 1985–2010 (co-editor, 2013) and Tekst og historie: Å lese tekster historisk (co-author, 2008).