A constitutional crisis is a severe breakdown in the smooth operation of government. Generally speaking, a constitutional crisis is a situation in which separate factions within a government disagree about the extent to which each of these factions hold sovereignty. Most commonly, constitutional crises involve some degree of conflict between different branches of government (e.g., executive, legislature, and/or judiciary), or between different levels of government in a federal system (e.g., state and federal governments). A constitutional crisis may occur because one or more parties to the dispute willfully chooses to violate a provision of a constitution or an unwritten constitutional convention, or it may occur when the disputants disagree over the interpretation of such a provision or convention. If the dispute arises because some aspect of the constitution is ambiguous or unclear, the ultimate resolution of the crisis often establishes a precedent for the future. For instance, the United States constitution is silent on the question of whether states are allowed to secede from the Union; however, after the secession of several states was forcibly prevented in the American Civil War, it has become generally accepted that states cannot leave the Union. A constitutional crisis is distinct from a rebellion, which is defined as when factions outside of a government challenge that government's sovereignty, as in a coup or revolution led by the military or civilian protesters. A constitutional crisis can lead to government paralysis, collapse, or civil war.
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Incomplete list of constitutional crises by country
Australia
- The Australian constitutional crisis of 1975 that saw Prime Minister Gough Whitlam dismissed by the nation's normally apolitical Governor General, in response to a prolonged budget deadlock in parliament.
Belgium
- The controversy over the wartime conduct of Leopold III, which culminated in his abdication in 1951.
- Belgium saw a constitutional crisis in the 1990s when King Badouin refused to sign a law allowing abortion.
Canada
- The King-Byng Affair of 1926 in Canada, where Governor General Viscount Byng of Vimy refused a request by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King that Parliament be dissolved and new elections called. Instead, Byng dismissed King and appointed Arthur Meighen as Prime Minister.
- The patriation of the British North America Act was contentious, as there were conflicting opinions from the federal government, provincial governments, and supreme court over what exactly was the procedure whereby Canada could request a constitutional amendment from the United Kingdom. The Quebec Veto Reference found that Québec did not have a veto on the patriation, leading to the current situation where the National Assembly of Québec refuses to ratify the Constitution Act in its current form, even though it is still bound by it.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba attempted to dismiss each other in September 1960. Kasavubu prevailed in a coup led by Mobutu later that month.
Denmark
- The Easter Crisis of 1920, when King Christian X of Denmark dismissed the country's cabinet.
England
For crises after 1707, see United Kingdom
- The 1215 Barons' revolt against the rule of King John, which led to the Magna Carta. Immediately, John repudiated Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War.
- The Break with Rome, when King Henry VIII repudiated papal authority and created himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.
- King Charles I's insistence on the Divine Right of Kings, manifest in the 11-year Personal Rule, and leading directly to the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
- The Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. The flight of King James II / VII from the country left no king in his place to rule England or Scotland or to summon a Parliament. When King William and Queen Mary jointly replaced him there was therefore no legally recognised Parliament to legitimise their irregular succession to the throne. This led to the Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689.
Fiji
- In the Fiji constitutional crisis of 1977, the winning party in a general election failed to name a government due to internal conflicts. The Governor-General intervened, appointing a prime minister from the opposition party.
Iran
- Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's 1953 dismissal of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh and Mossadegh's subsequent refusal to quit the office.
Malaysia
- The 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis was a series of events that began with the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) general election in 1987 and ended with the suspension and the eventual removal of Lord President of the Supreme Court of Malaysia Tun Salleh Abas from his seat.
- The 1993 Malaysian constitutional crisis involved the limitation of monarchs' power in Malaysia. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed successfully amended the constitution to bring the monarchies more accountable to their actions.
Malta
- The 1981 election, when, due to a quirk in that country's Single Transferrable Vote system, the party winning more than half the votes won fewer than half the seats.
Nepal
- The Loktantra Andolan movement of 2006, which rejected King Gyanendra's year-long direct rule and stripped him of political authority.
New Zealand
- The New Zealand constitutional crisis of 1984 was caused by Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon's refusal to devalue the dollar as per the instructions of the Prime Minister-elect, David Lange. The cabinet rebelled against Muldoon, who relented. The upshot was the passage of the Constitution Act, which patriated the constitution from the United Kingdom.
Norway
- The dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905.
Pakistan
- Supreme Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah clashed repeatedly with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in late 1997, accusing him of undermining the court's independence. After Ali Shah suspended a constitutional amendment that prevented dismissal of the prime minister, Sharif ordered President Farooq Leghari to appoint a new chief justice. When Leghari refused, Sharif considered impeaching him, but backed down after a warning from the armed forces. Faced with a choice of accepting Sharif's demands or dismissing him, Leghari resigned. Ali Shah resigned shortly afterward, establishing Sharif's dominance.
Rome
- The crossing of the Rubicon by Julius Caesar in 49 BC with his legions. This action, which had no precedent, precipitated a crisis only fully resolved in 31 BC, when Octavian defeated all his enemies to become the sole master of the Roman world.
Russia
- The constitutional crisis of 1993: a conflict between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian parliament lead by Ruslan Khasbulatov, which resulted in a military siege of the parliament building and street fighting, claiming 187 lives. Aleksandr Rutskoy assumed the powers of the Acting President of Russia for a few days.
Scotland
For crises after 1707, see United Kingdom
- The succession crisis resulting from the death of Queen Margaret in 1290. Edward I of England, whose son Edward was to marry Margaret, was asked to arbitrate, and chose John Balliol, who swore an oath of fealty to Edward, turning Scotland into an English vassal in 1292. Soon, Balliol and the Scottish nobility revolted, leading to the Wars of Scottish Independence.
Thailand
- In March, 2006, 60 seats of the assembly of Thailand could not be elected, and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resigned.
United Kingdom
- The rejection of the 1909 People's Budget by the House of Lords. This caused a two-year impasse, leading to the 1911 Parliament Act.
- The 1936 Edward VIII abdication crisis, when King Edward VIII proposed to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson against the advice of his ministers.
United States of America
- The Nullification Crisis of 1832, in which South Carolina declared that it would not permit collection of a federal tariff
- The in-office death of William Henry Harrison in 1841.
- The secession of the southern U.S. states prior to the American Civil War, which the federal government did not recognize.
- 1876 presidential election: Republicans and Democrats disputed voting results in three Southern states. A congressional panel voted along party lines in favor of Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, who dampened Southern fury by withdrawing federal troops from the South.
