The Continuity of Public Policies: Does Constitutionalization Matter?

The following article asks how the constitutionalization of public policies affects the continuity of such policies, with "constitutionalization" understood as the transformation of norms structuring public policies into constitutional text. By means of a dialogue with literature published on constitutionalism and public policies, we propose a model of analysis in which the continuity of policies results from their constitutional status and sources of resilience. Public policies with a high degree of resilience will remain in effect regardless of their constitutional status; while the fate of policies with low degrees of resilience is defined by their constitutional status, since a high constitutional status should guarantee continuity. Public policies with a low constitutional status will see their continuity seriously compromised when their degree of resilience is too low to ensure such continuity in itself. In addition to proposing an analytical model, the article analyzes four cases in which the model applies.