Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Part I. Introduction
Theoretical perspectives on the social and political foundations of constitutions / Denis Galligan and Mila Versteeg
Part II. Theoretical Perspectives
Why a constitution? / Russell Hardin
Constitutions as mission statements / Jeff King
Transnational constitutionalism : a conceptual framework / Benedikt Goderis and Mila Versteeg
The people, the constitution, and the idea of representation / Denis J. Galligan
The strategic foundations of constitutions / Ran Hirschl
Constitutions as contract, constitutions as charters / Tom Ginsburg
Part III. Case Studies
Accidental constitutionalism : the political foundations and implications of constitution-making in Israel / Adam Shinar
The myth of imposed constitution / David S. Law
Social, political, and philosophical foundations of the Irish constitutional order / Paul Brady
South Sudan's dualistic constitution / Kevin L. Cope
New Zealand : abandoning Westminster? / David Erdos
The juristic republic of Iran / Binesh Hass
Neo-Bolivarian constitutional design : comparing the 1999 Venezuelan, 2008 Ecuadorian, and 2009 Bolivian constitutions / Phoebe King
The constitution as agreement to agree : the social and political foundations (and effects) of the 1971 Egyptian constitution / Clark Lombardi. Explaining the constitutionalization of social rights : Portuguese hypotheses and a cross national test / Pedro Magalhães
Popular constitution-making : the case of Iceland / Anne Meuwese
Romania's transnational constitution : a tradition of elite learning and self-empowerment / Christina Parau
The social and political foundations of the Nigerian constitution / Charles H. Parkinson
The once and future democracy : Argentina at the bar of constitutionalism / Miguel Schor
Battle between law and society in Micronesia / Brian Z. Tamanaha
Constitutionalism of shallow foundations : the case of Bulgaria / Daniel Smilov
The shifting foundations of the European Union constitution / Neil Walker