Book excerpt: This volume studies the driving dynamic for thick-skin tectonics. It evaluates the role of various factors that control the development of thick-skin architecture. The studied driving dynamics include individual plate movement rates, overall convergence rates, orogen movement sense with respect to mantle flow and pro-wedge versus retro-wedge location. Numerous internal factors that influence the architecture of thick-skinned dominated orogens have been considered. These include the role of the rheology of the deforming layers, the presence or absence of potential detachment horizons, basement buttresses, crustal thickness variations, inherited strength contrasts and the impact of pre-existing anisotropy in thick-skin orogenic deformation. External factors discussed include the role of both syn-tectonic erosion and deposition in deformation. The study areas begin with worldwide examples and close with a detailed coverage of the Northern Andes natural laboratory, which is characterized by particularly robust data coverage.