A preamble is a statement at the beginning of a document that explains the importance of that document. In a constitution, a preamble explains the political values and goals of the people in the country. Constitutions often represent the values that the community thinks are most important. This shows us something about the political culture of the country. Values such as “freedom” and “tolerance “might suggest a liberal political culture, while values such as “tradition” and “law and order” would suggest a more conservative political culture.
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Preamble Extracts from Selected Constitutions The Russian Federation ...We, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common destiny on our land … preserving the historic unity of the state and self-determination of the peoples respecting the memory of our ancestors... Indonesia ...to improve public welfare, to educate the life of the people and to participate toward the establishment of a world order based on freedom, perpetual peace and social justice... China ...The People’s Republic of China is a unitary multinational state built up jointly by the people of all its nationalities. Socialist relations of equality, unity and mutual assistance have been established among them... Japan ...We, the Japanese people, will work for the fruits of peaceful cooperation with all nations and the blessings of liberty, and are committed that never again shall we be faced with the horrors of war through the action of government… Vietnam ...carrying into effect the Program of National Construction in the period of transition to socialism, the Vietnamese people vow to fully preserve the tradition of patriotism, unite millions as one, uphold the spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement in the building of the country... East Timor ...to fight all forms of tyranny, oppression, social, cultural or religious domination and segregation, to defend national independence, to respect and guarantee human rights and the fundamental rights of the citizen... |