The Institutionalisms Flashcards
Core idea of institutional approaches
Institutions regulate human behaviour. Institutions here can be defined as a set of norms and rules that structure social interactions. (Moral/legal rules, role expectations, organisations)
Key features by which institutions are recognizable
- Institutions are structural boundaries on social behaviour.
- Institutions are the product of social interactions, including power imbalances.
- Institutions are sticky/stable/durable, but they can change over time.
- Institutions are generally perceived as legitimate.
- Institutions can generally be enforced.
Institutional approaches; What shapes human behaviour?
Socialisation camp: Social structures cause individual behaviour
Autonomy camp: Human agency causes social structure.
The two are interconnected
Three different ways of looking at institutions
- Rational choice institutionalism
- Historical institutionalism
- Sociological institutional
Rational choice institutionalism
- Institutions are set up by rational actors to maximise their utility.
- Institutions subsequently constrain the agency of these actors.
Historical institutionalism
- Has the same principles as Rational Choice Institutionalism
- On top of that, it focuses on how institutions change over time.
- On top of that, it focuses on how earlier choices constrain future ones.
Sociological institutionalism
- Human agents do not exist independently from institutions.
- Norms, values and meaning-making shape institutions.
- Institutions shape norms, values and meaning-making.
Assumptions of rational choice institutionalism
- Actors are (boundedly) rational, meaning they behave strategically to maximise utility in a given situation.
- Norms and rules may constrain actors’ strategic behaviour, but they may also enable specific courses of action, as effects of institutions. In other words: institutions can both constrain and support the interests of actors.
- Institutions are the rules of the game (and game theory plays a role in this theory as well)
Areas rational choice institutionalism has covered
- Spacial voting
- Coalition formation
- Principal-agent framework
- Veto player analysis
Joint-decision trap
If there’s a situation where national government’s are taking decisions, every country has a veto and a situation where the status quo will stay when there’s no decision is made, the lowest level at which a policy works will be accepted. Not everyone will be happy, but it is the lowest denominator solution (CAP is an example).
Theoretical critiques on rational choice institutionalism
- Actors do not have perfect information
- Actors are not perfectly rational
- There is no focus on institutional change
- A very narrow concept of utility, with no room for norms, values and culture
Important terms in historical institutionalism
- Sunk costs: costs that have already been incurred (factor of time) and are unrecoverable
- Switching costs: costs associated with switching to alternatives (factor of change)
- Sunk cost fallacy: the wrong idea that sunk costs are too valuable to throw away, even though changing is very much worth it
- Increasing returns: how actors adapt their behaviour to existing institutions and
benefit from their stability - Network externalities: the more an institution is used, the more beneficial it is for all
users
Focus of historical institutionalism and how institutions are seen
How institutions develop over time
Institutions as:
1. Standard operating procedures
2. The way things are done
3. Stabilising forces over time
Key concept in historical institutionalism
Path dependency: the decisions you make now decide the opportunities and decisions you will face later. This can be in the form of positive feedback loops, which means that positive experiences in the past can create opportunities in the future
Path deviation
Related to path dependency.
Gradual change caused by negative feedback loops.
For example, vetos block European integration a lot, so eventually there can a desire to change vetoing
