Global Constitutional Narratives of Autonomous Regions

<p>With international attention focused on Hong Kong many forget that Macau also exists in a delicate one country two systems (OCTS) balance with mainland China. This book provides insights into the circumstances surrounding the less-understood half of China’s OCTS policy including the stagnation of representational government and the location of any Macau characteristics in the Macau Basic Law. </p><p>Despite being Hong Kong’s sister Special Administrative Region (SAR) within the People’s Republic of China Macau’s unique constitutional development under Portuguese and Chinese administration remains under-appreciated despite its potential contributions to local national and international constitutional discourse. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach including doctrinal historical and comparative methodologies this work fills that gap. The research blends Portuguese Chinese and foreign-language sources in order to reconstruct a balanced constitutional narrative. The book focuses on a consequential effect of globalization – that is the assimilation of a long-standing and unique constitutional order by a new hegemonic sovereign – including processes for internationalization as China opened up legal harmonization of two distinct legal and socioeconomic orders juridification of local affairs with the establishment of a new local court system in preparation for handover to the Chinese regime and democratization (or the lack thereof) among the various communities comprising the Macanese polity before and since. </p><p>Focusing on Macau’s unique development at the crux of European and Chinese empires and the role it plays as a mirror for Chinese intentions <em>vis-a-vis</em> Hong Kong today the book will be of interest to those working in constitutional law politics and history.</p>