Even well-designed constitutions cannot, by themselves, guarantee democracy. For one, constitutions are always incomplete. Like any set of rules, they have countless gaps and ambiguities. No operating manual, no matter how detailed, can anticipate all possible contingencies or prescribe how to behave under all possible circumstances.
Steven Levitsky, in his book "How Democracies Die," emphasizes that constitutions, regardless of their thoroughness, cannot ensure a functioning democracy on their own. This is primarily due to the inherent incompleteness in constitutions, which often leave critical gaps and ambiguities. These documents serve as frameworks but do not cover every possible scenario that a government might encounter.
Moreover, Levitsky points out that just like a detailed operating manual, constitutions cannot predict how individuals will act in all situations. Thus, despite providing guidelines, they depend on the political culture, institutions, and civic engagement to foster real democratic practices, highlighting that the essence of democracy extends beyond mere written laws.
