The constitutionalisation of indigenous culture as a new paradigm of the caring state

This study focuses on the debate on alternative and sustainable development produced by the concept of buen vivir from a juridical perspective, involving in particular comparative constitutional law. Ecuador and Bolivia have constitutionalized this concept since the constitutional reforms of 2008 and 2009, but if we try to understand this phenomenon under comparative lenses, we may find traces of institutional change even in countries with different cultural and historical backgrounds, such as Bhutan and South Africa. All these countries have been interested in processes of constitutional (re)foundation and chose similar methods and contents for their new constitutional systems. Comparing all the common elements in the experiences analyzed, even if aware of the different contexts, I propose to read them as the germinal phase of the birth of a new form of State, overcoming the Welfare State towards the Caring State, where the State cares for each member of the community, everyone cares for the other and both the State and each individual care for the environment as a living part of the biotic community