Constitutionalism is the idea that government should be limited through established procedures or laws and that governmental authority depends on its willingness to observe these limitations. The modern term derives from the Latin word constitutio, which means "establishment" or "ordinance" of the emperor. As a political or legal doctrine, constitutionalism refers to a government that is devoted first to the establishment of law and order within society, and second to the control of government within that order, especially as it pertains to the protection of basic individual rights. It is meant to solve the problem of anarchy on the one hand and tyranny on the other within a single and coherent constitutional structure.

Most constitutional governments have a charter or "constitution" that derives its authority from the people. A constitution consists of a set of rules or norms that imposes limits on government power...