ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of constitutional development in Southeast Asia in which the author attempts to provide a framework to describe and explain this sub-region's constitutional developments. The chapter covers each of the specific templates — of colonialism, communism, revolution and evolution — to understand the constitutional trajectories of Southeast Asia. It offers some observations on developmental trends and possibilities. Decolonisation, rather than an enlightened gathering of notables seeking to draft better government forms, provided the impetus for Southeast Asia's first great era of constitution-making. The chapter describes and analyses the various constitution-making modes shaped by the policies of the departing colonial powers and the impact of history on these policies. In 1933, the American Congress overrode President Herbert Hoover's veto and passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, providing independence for the Philippines within a 10-year transition period. The 1935 Constitution gave the executive a dominant position and provided for a unicameral legislature-the National Assembly.
