Constitutional crisis
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A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the smooth operation of government. Generally speaking, a constitutional crisis is a situation in which separate factions within a government disagree about the extent to which each of these factions hold sovereignty. Most commonly, constitutional crises involve some degree of conflict between different branches of government (e.g., executive, legislature, and/or judiciary), or between different levels of government in a federal system (e.g., state and federal governments). Low-level disputes of this nature are commonplace in everyday government operation, and the point at which such a dispute becomes a constitutional crisis is difficult to define precisely. However, a good guideline is that a crisis occurs when one or more parties to the dispute refuses to recognize the right or power of another constitutional body to resolve or arbitrate the dispute.
A constitutional crisis may occur because one or more parties to the dispute willfully chooses to violate a provision of a constitution or an unwritten constitutional convention, or it may occur when the disputants disagree over the interpretation of such a provision or convention. If the dispute arises because some aspect of the constitution is ambiguous or unclear, the ultimate resolution of the crisis often establishes a precedent for the future. For instance, the United States constitution is silent on the question of whether states are allowed to secede from the Union; however, after the secession of several states was forcibly prevented in the U.S. Civil War, it has become generally accepted that states cannot leave the Union.
A constitutional crisis is distinct from a rebellion, which is defined as when factions outside of a government challenge that government's sovereignty, as in a coup or revolution led by the military or civilian protesters.
A constitutional crisis can lead to government paralysis, collapse, or civil war.
Incomplete list of constitutional crises by country
Australia
- The Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 that saw Prime Minister Gough Whitlam dismissed by the nation's normally apolitical Governor General, in response to a prolonged budget deadlock in parliament.
Belgium
- Belgium saw a constitutional crisis in the 1990s when King Badouin refused to sign a law allowing abortion.
Canada
- The King-Byng Affair of 1926 in Canada, where Governor General Viscount Byng of Vimy refused a request by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King that Parliament be dissolved and new elections called. Instead, Byng dismissed King and appointed Arthur Meighen as Prime Minister.
- The controversy over the patriation of the Constitution Act, 1867. The Quebec Veto Reference found that Québec did not have a veto on the patriation, leading to the current situation where the National Assembly of Québec refuses to ratify the Constitution Act in its current form, even though it is still bound by it.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba attempted to dismiss each other in September 1960. Kasavubu prevailed in a coup led by Mobutu later that month.
Denmark
- The Easter Crisis of 1920, when King Christian X of Denmark dismissed the country's cabinet.
England
For crises after 1707, see United Kingdom
- The 1215 Barons' revolt against the rule of King John, which led to the Magna Carta. Immediately, John repudiated Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War.
- The Break with Rome, when King Henry VIII declared the Church of England free of the Roman Catholic Church and anointed himself Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
- King Charles I's insistence on the Divine Right of Kings, manifest in the 11-year Personal Rule, and leading directly to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
- The Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. The flight of King James II / VII from the country left no king in his place to rule England or Scotland or to summon a Parliament. When King William and Queen Mary jointly replaced him there was therefore no legally recognised Parliament to legitimise their irregular succession to the throne. This led to the Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689.
Iran
- Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's 1953 dismissal of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and Mossadegh's subsequent refusal to quit the office.
Malaysia
- The 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis was a series of events that began with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) general election in 1987 and ended with the suspension and the eventual removal of Lord President of the Supreme Court of Malaysia Tun Salleh Abas from his seat.
Malta
- The 1981 election, when, due to a quirk in that country's Single Transferrable Vote system, the party winning more than half the votes won less than half the seats.
Nepal
- The Loktantra Andolan movement of 2006, which rejected King Gyanendra's year-long direct rule and stripped him of political authority.
New Zealand
- Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon's 1981 refusal to devalue the dollar as per the instructions of the Prime Minister-elect, David Lange. The cabinet rebelled against Muldoon, who relented. The upshot was the passage of the Constitution Act, which patriated the constitution from the United Kingdom.
Norway
- The dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905.
Rome
- The crossing of the Rubicon by Julius Caesar in 49 BC with his legions. This action, which had no precedent, precipitated a crisis only fully resolved in 31 BC, when Octavian defeated all his enemies to become the sole master of the Roman world.
Russia
- The constitutional crisis of 1993: a conflict between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian parliament lead by Ruslan Khasbulatov, which resulted in a military siege of the parliament building and street fighting, claiming 187 lives. Aleksandr Rutskoy assumed the powers of the Acting President of Russia for a few days.
Scotland
For crises after 1707, see United Kingdom
- The succession crisis resulting from the death of Queen Margaret in 1290. Edward I of England, whose son Edward was to marry Margaret, was asked to arbitrate, and chose John Balliol, who swore an oath of fealty to Edward, turning Scotland into an English vassal in 1292. Soon, Balliol and the Scottish nobility revolted, leading to the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Thailand
- In March, 2006, 60 seats of the assembly of Thailand could not be elected, and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigned.
United Kingdom
- The rejection of the 1909 People's Budget by the House of Lords. This caused a two-year impasse, leading to the 1911 Parliament Act.
- The 1936 Edward VIII abdication crisis, when King Edward VIII abdicated the Commonwealth crowns after the respective governments refused to grant him permission to marry a divorcee, Wallis Simpson.
United States of America
- The Nullification Crisis of 1832, in which South Carolina declared that it would not permit collection of a federal tariff
- The secession of the southern U.S. states prior to the American Civil War. The American Constitution has yet to face a second challenge as dangerous as the one brought about by secession and the Civil War. However, several situations that might have led to constitutional crises — and that in moments of hyperbole are sometimes referred to as constitutional crises themselves — have arisen since 1865:
- 1876 presidential election: Republicans and Democratics disputed voting results in three Southern states. A congressional panel voted along party lines in favor of Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, who dampened Southern fury by withdrawing federal troops from the South.
- 2000 presidential election: The election came down to the state of Florida, where the margin was less than 1,000 votes. The final result was in the balance for a month after Election Day due to recounts and court decisions. On December 11, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the recounts were to stop, giving George W. Bush a 537-vote win.
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