This book examines constitutional law and practice in five South Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Unstable constitutionalism Mark Tushnet and Madhav Khosla; 2. How to do constitutional law and politics in South Asia Sujit Choudhry; Part II. Forms and Sources of Instability: 3. The locus of sovereign authority in Nepal Mara Malagodi; 4. Representation, regime, and resistance in Nepal Mahendra Lawoti; 5. Constitutionalism and extra-constitutionalism in Pakistan Mohammad Waseem; 6. The judicialization of politics in Pakistan: the Supreme Court after the lawyers' movement Osama Siddique; 7. Elections in 'democratic' Bangladesh M. Jashim Ali Chowdhury; Part III. Reactions and Responses to Instability: 8. The Indian Supreme Court and the art of democratic positioning Pratap Bhanu Mehta; 9. The judicialization of politics in Bangladesh: pragmatism, legitimacy, and consequences Ridwanul Hoque; 10. Debating federalism in Sri Lanka and Nepal Rohan Edrisinha; 11. Constitutional form and reform in post-war Sri Lanka: towards a plurinational understanding Asanga Welikala; 12. Constitutional federalism in the Indian Supreme Court Sudhir Krishnaswamy.