The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions provides a comprehensive survey of where we are in the study of political institutions, covering both the traditional concerns of political science with constitutions, federalism and bureaucracy and more recent interest in theory and the constructed nature of institutions. The study of political institutions is among the founding pillars of political science. With the rise of the ‘new institutionalism’, the study of institutions has returned to its place in the sun. This text draws together distinguished contributors from leading universities across the world. This volume is one of The Oxford Handbooks of Political Science — a ten-volume set of reference books offering authoritative and engaging critical overviews of the state of political science.