Overview
This book analyses the constitutional and political thinking of Venezuelan war general and political visionary, Francisco de Miranda (1750-1816). It unravels Miranda's emancipatory ideas that were hidden or discarded by local or doctrinal oligarchic interests, and which were not correctly perceived by most historians. The book presents Miranda’s political texts (constitutional projects, pamphlets, proclamations, publications, letters) in detail in their respective contexts with analytical commentaries. It rescues the philosophy of an atypical revolutionary and singular hero who proposed an original synthesis of Anglo-Saxon, French and Indigenous cultures. It showcases the farsightedness of Miranda’s projects for a federal constitution found in current principles of geographical subsidiarity, pre-empting the work of the European Union: strong federal powers but strictly limited to external defence/diplomacy, economic and monetary union, and human rights, while other policies remain decentralized for efficiency and to protect local identities. Miranda’s draft constitutions for Spanish America and Brazil show his belief in a new legal-institutional framework rooted in local and indigenous institutions and cultures, which would warrant regional, social and racial integration, which in turn was necessary to transform political independence into lasting emancipation and sustainable socioeconomic development. Written in a crucial period of revolutions and wars that shaped the Western world, Miranda’s work remains nonetheless very relevant in alleviating profound difficulties of governability, not only for Latin America and the stagnation of its regional integration but also for a globalized world and the socio-political challenge of multicultural societies. This important book appeals to a broad readership, including historians, policymakers, political scientists and constitutionalists, Latin America experts, and experts on regional integration.
Full Product Details
Author: Christian Ghymers
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG
Imprint: Springer International Publishing AG
Volume: 34
ISBN: 9783031969379
ISBN 10: 3031969375
Pages: 479
Publication Date: 11 January 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Author Information
Christian Ghymers is a macro-economist, agrégé de l’enseignement supérieur (PhD equivalent) and Honorary Professor of International Economics with tenure at the ICHEC-Brussels Management School, President of Institute for Relations Between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (IRELAC), and Vice-President of the Robert Triffin International/University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. He specializes in governance, Latin American policy issues, international monetary topics, and regional integration. He had a career as adviser in the European Commission (DG Economic and Financial Affairs), the Joint Vienna Institute (IMF Institute), the ECLAC/CEPAL-United Nations Secretary (Santiago), the Research Department of the National Bank of Belgium, and has been Visiting Professor or Lecturer in various Universities (UCL – Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, IESEG Lille, Aix-Marseille II, Ecole Nationale d’ Administration – ENA – Strasbourg, France, and Universities in Chile).
