ABSTRACT
Max Weber observes that regimes that base their legitimacy and authority on charisma and tradition have little tolerance of the rule of law. He also argues, however, that regimes develop through the various stages of legitimacy, from the traditional and charismatic stages to the bureaucratic stage, where legitimacy is largely rule-based.2 This chapter examines Arab approaches to constitutions and constitutionalism. It considers the possibility that Arab regimes are developing in a manner consistent with that suggested by Weber and that constitutions are becoming more significant as elements in Arab political systems.
