Every country lives at least one founding moment. It may be an extraordinary mobilisation of people coming together to create a new state.

It may alternatively be an agreement among elites to arrive at a peaceful settlement to start afresh. And it may be the product of externally imposed order after military conquest. Whatever the source, a founding moment is common to peoples the world around, either in fact or in the fictional narratives they tell themselves and pass on to their posterity. Founding moments shape constitutional identities, transform national law, influence surrounding countries, establish power structures and legitimise institutions in the country. But what exactly is a founding moment? When does the ‘founding’ process begin, when it is ongoing and when does it end? And is a founding moment possible without a new constitution?