This seminar focuses on the configurations of political institutions that might be apt for democratizing countries, especially those divided by ethnic or religious affiliations. In recent decades, constitution-making has become a much more international and comparative exercise than it was previously, with the result that democratizing or redemocratizing countries are more open to a wide range of institutions than they were previously. The seminar deals with many of the most common issues confronted by constitutional designers. It considers four overarching issues: (1) What are the sources of constitutional change, and what governs the choice of designers when they borrow institutions from abroad? (2) Are such institutions able to have a benign effect on ethnic and religious conflict? (3) What determines whether apt designs can in fact be adopted and by what mode they will be adopted? (4) Is there a single best process for constitution making?