Belarusian Constitution

Pillar 1: Constitutional Arrangements

Media description: Scenes from the American television series The West Wing (Season 6, Episode 14) addressing the re-writing of a constitution for the Republic of Belarus.

MEDIA CONTEXT

The award winning television drama series The West Wing (Warner Brothers) is based around the top echelons of the White House dealing with the daily tapestry of personal, homeland and global issues. The ‘West Wing’ contains the famous Oval Office of the president of the United States of America.
Scenes from Episode 14 (The Wake Up Call) of Season 6 depict interactions between White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), Constitutional Law Professor Lawrence Lessig (Christopher Lloyd) and a group of representatives from Belarus. The Belarusians have come to receive advice from Professor Lessig on forming a new constitution for their country. Ziegler is anxious to start the writing process, whilst Lessig sees as his most important duty the instilling of “democratic values” in some of Belarus’ most influential men.

MEDIA CRITIQUE
This episode is full of cultural contrasts that might be more noticeable to Australians than to Americans. Richard Schiff’s character, Toby Ziegler, assumes his opinions are enlightened yet he is a walking contradiction; as a senior White House staffer, in a country with a long tradition of constitutional government, working in a bastion of democracy, he does not believe his democratic government is an ideal model for other countries. Is that a dramatic ploy or a cultural trace? On the other hand, Mr. Zubatov, Editor in Chief of a major Belarusian paper, is made to appear naive in asserting his president would not turn to unruly dictatorship if given absolute power. Is either of these a fair characterisation? Have the producers intentionally (or unintentionally because it is culturally ingrained) given the impression that ‘foreigners’ are not as enlightened as Americans because they trust in a different system of government? Whatever the case may be, this West Wing episode throws up some interesting discussion points that are relevant in Australia.

ANALYSIS & REVIEW

1. Lessig plays the role of mediator between Ziegler and the Belarusians. Lessig believes that the discussion about the constitution is actually more important than the document it delivers. “A constitutional democracy succeeds only if the constitution reflects democratic values already alive in the citizenry,” he says with passion. (Lawrence Lessig, The West Wing: 6, 14). Discuss Lessig’s statement.
2. How can citizens affect the way laws are invoked? Are a constitution and a vote any guarantee of citizens’ rights? What else would you say is needed?
3. Even though the last century of history for Belarus is vastly different to Australia’s, are there any similarities between how the “West Wing Belarusians” appeared to being going about the formation of their new constitution and what actually happened in the writing of the original Australian Constitution?
4. What constraints or restraints does the Australian Constitution place upon the various arms of the Commonwealth Government that make a dictatorship of the kind that continues in Belarus somewhat impossible in Australia? Take account of the fact that the states have their own constitutions as you formulate your opinion.
5. Belarusians appear to have the vote (universal suffrage from the age of 18), but at this stage of their history a Belarusians’ vote is more or less worthless for invoking change. How is the vote of an Australian ‘powerful’?

THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION & AUSTRALIA TODAY
The Belarusian Constitution has in fact gone through a number of changes in recent decades. This is true of Australia’s constitution since its enactment and those of many countries. What are some of the amendments that have been made to the original Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act? How do these amendments reflect the current values and attitudes of our citizenry?

PERSONAL APPLICATION
Have you read the Australian Constitution, or any part of it? Could you make a plan to read it this year? (Yes, you might find it hard to read or boring, but you would also be a unique Australian. How many Australians do you think may have read the Constitution?)

AUSCIVICS FILM & TV SERIES LINKED TO SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Learning areas and/or outcomes relating to the questions and issues above have been identified for each state and territory in the following links: