Nationmaking in the 21st Century
The people of Iceland will be updating their constitution in the coming months. What's interesting is how they're doing it: by polling Facebook users . Do let's make jokes now. When they gained independence in 1944, Iceland pretty much copied and pasted the Danish constitution. The name for the legislature was changed from Folketing to Althingi , and the office of the king was replaced with an elected president. Almost everything else remained intact. Their current constitution takes a few concepts from ours, but can be vague on certain matters of civil rights. Section VI establishes a state church, and allowances are made for restrictions on liberty in the name of "public order," which is a bit vague. Then there's this: The law shall guarantee for everyone the necessary assistance in case of sickness, invalidity, infirmity by reason of old age, unemployment and similar circumstances. Sound familiar?