This book is dedicated to Joachim Jens Hesse, a scholar whose multi-faceted work may be characterised as an attempt at "crossing borders" in several respects. These primarily include fostering interdisciplinary cooperation between law, economics and social sciences, analysing public sector developments in an international and intercultural perspective as well as bridging the "gap" between academia and practical politics. Therefore, the volume deals with a subject that covers these features in an exemplary manner: the interrelationship between nation-state constitutions and their international environments. In this context, ongoing processes of transnationalisation have not only contributed to blurring the formerly clear-cut boundaries between these two domains, but also provoked a growing interest in and demand for comparative, interdisciplinary and applied research on constitutional developments. The authors of this Festschrift include eminent lawyers, economists and political scientists from Europe, the United States and East Asia who worked together with Joachim Jens Hesse in various contexts.

Florian Grotz, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg; Theo A.J. Toonen, Universität Leiden, Niederlande.

Florian Grotz/Theo A.J. Toonen: Crossing Border: Constitutional Development and Internationalisation. I. Historical and Intellectual Foundations of Comparative Constitutionalism Dieter Langewiesche: Moderner Staat in Deutschland - eine Defizitgeschichte. Hugo Preuß' radikale Kritik eines deutschen Sonderwegs in der Moderne; Yoichi Nishikawa: "Genius des Okzidents": zur Bedeutung der deutschen Geschichtswissenschaft für das moderne Staatsdenken in Japan. II. Constitutional Developments in Western Democracies Peter Badura: Der Verfassungsauftrag der Streitkräfte im Grundgesetz; Bert Rockman/Eric Waltenburg: The American Constitution, the State, and Executive Prerogative; Guy Carcassonne: Les institutions françaises face au réformisme sarkoziste. III. Institutional Transformation and Constitutional Change László Csaba: Constitutionalism, Economic Transformation and Europeanisation: the Case of Hungary; Yong-duck Jung/Cheongsin Kim: The Institutionalisation of Representative Democracy in Korea 1948-2007; Richard Balme/Yang Lihua: The Politics of Constitutional Reform in China: Rule of Laws as Condition or as Substitute for Democracy? IV. State Structures and Constitutional Reform Arthur Benz: Verfassungsreformen in Bundesstaaten - Fallstricke und Auswege; Theo A.J. Toonen/Trui Steen: Constituting the Cooperative State: Strategies for Collaborative Decentralisation within Unitary States; John Halligan: Administrative Reforms in Westminster Democracies: the Long-term Results; Tony Verheijen: Independent Civil Service Systems: a Contested Value? V. The Future of Constitutionalism in Multi-level Environments Gerhard Robbers: Perspektiven des europäischen Verfassungsrechts - Verfassungsdämmerung? Jan-Erik Lane: The New Regional Organisation: Incentives, Rules and Constitutional Implications; Michiel Scheltema: Constitutional Principles and Internationalisation; Theo A.J. Toonen/Florian Grotz: Constitutional Analyses and Institutional Redesign in an Era of Internationalisation: Ten Reflections.