Asks how the 'parchment' promises of a written constitution are translated into political practice, working through the many problems of constitutional implementation after adoption.

1. Introduction. The first-period problem of constitutional implementation Tom Ginsburg and Aziz Z. Huq; Part I. The Problem of Transformation in Constitutional Design: 2. Looking 'backward' or 'forward' to American constitutional development: reflections on constitutional 'endurance' and 'adaptation' in the 'First Republic' Sanford Levinson; 3. Marking constitutional transitions: the law and politics of constitutional implementation in South Africa Rosalind Dixon and Theunis Roux; 4. India's first period: constitutional doctrine and constitutional stability Madhav Khosla; 5. Two steps 'forward', one step 'back'? Transformation and correction in the implementation of Ecuador's 2008 constitution Eric Alston; Part II. The Issue of Gender: 6. The long road ahead: the first period of a gender-responsive constitution in Zimbabwe Claudia Flores; 7. Constitutional reform and women's political participation: electoral gender quotas in post-Arab Spring Egypt, Tunisia, and Jordan Susan H. Williams; Part III. Institutional Development and the Role of Courts: 8. Explaining the institutional role of the Colombian Constitutional Court Diego González; 9. Implementing a new constitution in a competitive authoritarian context: the case of Kenya James Thuo Gathii; Part IV. Authoritarian Transitions: 10. Transformational authoritarian constitutions: the case of Chile Tom Ginsburg; 11. Authoritarian straitjacket or vehicle for democratic transition?: the risky struggle to change Myanmar's constitution Melissa Crouch; 12. The Ethiopian constitution and ethnic federalism Daniel Abebe.