Introducing the Dataset of Constituent Actors (DCA)

Abstract This paper introduces the Dataset of Constituent Actors (DCA). For 868 national constitutions adopted between 1789 and 2024, it identifies whether the executive, a constituent legislature, a constituent assembly, or a combination thereof was nominally involved in the constitution-making process. Additionally, it reports whether a constitutional referendum was held, allowing researchers to study the effects of both constituent actors and citizen participation. The DCA is an extension of the dataset from Ginsburg et al. (2009), incorporating their information and adding another 400 observations. Descriptive trends suggest a decline in the use of constituent assemblies since the late 19th century, while legislatures have remained a popular drafting body throughout. Executive involvement has increased notably over the past 15 years. Our preliminary analyses show that constitutions drafted and adopted by the executive are significantly shorter, and are associated with lower levels of democracy, comparatively poor implementation, and shorter life expectancy than those created by a constituent legislature or assembly.