拉丁美洲各國憲政體制選擇與發展

Constitutional Choice and Development in Latin American Countries

本文主要探討拉美國家憲政體制選擇的特色，以及憲政體制發展的過程，並討論學界對於這些主題的相關解釋。本文認為，拉美國家的憲政發展有兩個重要的特色，第一是憲法更迭頻繁，第二是大多數拉美國家選擇以總統制作為其憲政體制，但在歷史上仍有一些國家採取總統制以外的憲政體制。就憲政發展的解釋而言，本文認為大多數拉美國家採取總統制深受「美國憲法」的影響，同時也反映了拉美傳統政治文化中的高地酋主義。而拉美憲政體制的變遷過程，則主要是國內政治角力的結果。

This article examines constitutional choices and the constitutional development in Latin American countries. It also discusses the relevant explanations for these topics in the literature. Two important features in the constitutional development are noticeable in the region. First, most Latin American countries have changed their constitutions frequently. Second, most Latin American countries adopt presidentialism as the constitutional system, but historically some countries in the region adopted other types of constitutional system. Regarding the explanations about constitutional development in the region, I argue that most Latin American countries' constitutional choices were influenced by the constitution of the United States, and such choices also reflect the political culture of caudillismo. Moreover, I contend that the political struggle of elites have shaped the constitutional change of development in the region.