National Assembly
(Redirected from National Legislature)
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A National Assembly is a legislative body that claims to embody the unified will of the nation as a whole.
- AKA: Constituent Assembly, National Legislature, Popular Assembly, Revolutionary Assembly.
- Context:
- It can typically form during revolutionary periods to represent unprivileged classes against traditional authority.
- It can often claim constituent power to draft fundamental laws and constitutions.
- It can frequently assert sovereign authority over ancien régime institutions and monarchical prerogatives.
- It can invoke the general will to legitimize radical reforms and political transformation.
- It can range from being a Revolutionary National Assembly to being an Established National Assembly, depending on its historical moment.
- It can range from being a Unicameral National Assembly to being a Bicameral National Assembly, depending on its chamber structure.
- It can range from being a Sovereign National Assembly to being a Limited National Assembly, depending on its constitutional powers.
- It can serve modern democratic states as the primary legislative institution for national lawmaking.
- It can range from being a Democratic National Assembly to being an Authoritarian National Assembly, depending on its selection methods.
- ...
- Examples:
- French National Assembly (1789), transforming from Estates-General to revolutionary legislature.
- Frankfurt National Assembly (1848), attempting German unification.
- Russian Constituent Assembly (1918), dissolved by Bolsheviks.
- Indian Constituent Assembly (1946-1950), drafting independent India's constitution.
- South African National Assembly, post-apartheid democratic legislature.
- ...
- Counter-Examples:
- Estates-General, representing separate orders rather than unified nation.
- House of Lords, based on hereditary privilege rather than popular representation.
- Corporate Assembly, representing functional groups rather than territorial constituency.
- Colonial Legislature, lacking sovereign authority and national representation.
- See: Legislative Body, French Revolution, General Will, Popular Sovereignty, Constituent Power, Parliament, Congress, Revolutionary Institution, Democratic Representation, Political Movement.