Book dossier

Falls the Shadow

by Kristina Bentley, Laurie Nathan, Richard Calland

"South Africa supposedly has one of the best Constitutions in the world, one which is intended to control and constrain the exercise of power by the state so that it does not threaten the liberty and security of citizens. But, in reality, does the Constitution contribute more to the security of some groups than others? Does it help to ensure certain types of security but not others? And does it have greater impact on some institutions than others? Falls the Shadow: Between the Promise and Reality of the South African Constitution is based on the assumption that the Constitution has a significant impact on the security of South African citizens and communities but that this impact is differential. The chapters in the book explore what kind of differential impact the Constitution has, explain what accounts for the differences, examine the consequences of the different impact and consider whether there are any general observations and hypotheses that emerge from comparative perspectives"--Publisher's website.