Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
Institutionalism
Quarter 2
What is Institutionalism?
In order to understand Institutionalism, it is important to first
define institutions in this theoretical perspective.
Institutions are patterns, routines, norms, rules and schemes
that govern and direct social thought and action.
Institutionalism therefore, is an approach that aims to
understand and analyze how actions, thoughts, and
meanings penetrate into the social consciousness deeply
enough to embed themselves into the social psyche.
What is Institutionalism?
There are different types of institutionalism,
but their common concern is to find out the
effects of these institutions and determine
how these affects the manner by which the
society functions.
What are the reasons why
Institutionalism claims that
institutions exists?
1. Social legitimacy
2. Survival
Why do you need to continue your studies amidst
the pandemic we are facing right now?
An institution such as education exists because a person
would have a bleak future without it. That’s why the
Department of Education made a Learning Continuity Plan.
Being educated means having to ascend social hierarchies
and organizational structures, which in turn affect the
economic prosperity of the person and survival in a
capitalist market.
Institutions provide social legitimacy and survival through
isomorphism.
What is isomorphism?
Isomorphism refers to the similarity in form, shape
or structure. Institutions arise, change, and persist
due to their regulative, normative, and cognitive
functions. These functions are isomorphic in nature
as they adopt in form, shape or structure to provide
social legitimacy, survival or both.
Three functions of Isomorphism:
The regulative function operates through
coercive isomorphism, which places value on
expediency as an effect to compliance.
Change either happens or not depending on
external factors such as rules and laws.
Three functions of Isomorphism:
The normative function operates through
normative isomorphism, which places value
on complying with social obligations. Change
either happens or not depending on external
factors such as accreditations and
certifications.
Three functions of Isomorphism:
The cognitive function operates the mimetic
isomorphism, which places value on what is
being complied with by others. Change either
happens or not depending on internal factors
such as uncertainty and prevalence of others’
performance.
Key Concepts in Institutionalism
Formal and Informal Institutions
Formal Institutions are codified rules, policies, and norms
that are considered official, originating from state laws,
government and organizations.
Informal Institutions on the other hand, are equally
known rules and norms but are not commonly written
down. Informal institutions are social practices
that have been commonly viewed as acceptable and are
more persistent than codified laws like that of formal
institutions.
Key Concepts in Institutionalism
Formal and Informal Institutions
Institutional actors refer to the people who make up
society, whose actions are controlled and regulated by
institutions. Institutional actors can be an individual, a
group, an organization, or a government that creates or
follows rules.
In political science, institutional actors and their
relationship with one another is often the subject of
research.
Who are the proponents of Institutionalism?
David Mitrany
He was a Romanian-born British
scholar, historian, and political theorist.
He is considered the father of
functionalism in international relations,
which is classified under liberal
institutionalism.
Who are the proponents of Institutionalism?
Jean Monnet
He was a French political economist
and diplomat. As one of the
originators of the European Union, he
saw the needs of the state are to be
achieved through the principle of
supranationality. As Mitrany argued
against territory being the source of
authority, Monnet used the argument
to erase country borderlines.
Types of Institutionalism:
1. Normative institutionalism
is a sociological interpretation of institutions
and holds that a “logic of appropriateness”
guides the behavior of actors within an
institution. It predicts that the norms and
formal rules of institutions will shape the
actions of those acting within them.
Types of Institutionalism:
2. Rational Choice Institutionalism
is a theoretical approach to the study of
institutions arguing that actors use institutions
to maximize their utility. However, actors face
rule-based constraints which influence their
behavior.
Types of Institutionalism:
3. Historical institutionalism
is a new institutionalist social science approach
that emphasizes how timing, sequences and
path dependence affect institutions, and shape
social, political, economic behavior and change.
Types of Institutionalism:
4. Sociological institutionalism
is a form of new institutionalism that concerns
“the way in which institutions create meaning
for individuals, providing important theoretical
building blocks for normative institutionalism
within political science”.
Types of Institutionalism:
5. Institutional Economics
focuses on understanding the role of the
evolutionary process and the role of
institutions in shaping economic behavior.
Types of Institutionalism:
6. Discursive institutionalism
is an umbrella concept for approaches that
concern themselves with the substantive
content of ideas and the interactive
processes of discourse in institutional
context.
Types of Institutionalism:
7. Constructivist institutionalism
According to multiple theorists, this is so
whether the field in question is directly denoted
as or has to do more with bringing
constructivist ideas into some other field, or
with bringing ideas back into the theory in
contrast against structuralist and/or system.
Types of Institutionalism:
8. Feminist institutionalism
is a new institutionalist approach that looks
at how gender norms operate within
institutions and how institutional processes
construct and maintain gender power
dynamic.
Criticisms and Limitations
Institutionalism has, as many definitions as there, are scholars who
practice it. Unsurprisingly, Institutionalism has many forms, and as such,
there is no central approach that can define the method of
Institutionalism and that the predictability of outcome changes as
different researchers conducted their studies. One criticism against
Institutionalism is that while it can describe and analyze differences
between institutions, it lacks the ability to analyze changes happening in
a certain situation. Another criticism against Institutionalism is the
assessment of institutions themselves. Since there are many approaches
to Institutionalism, there are also a variety of ways by which institutions
can be identified.
Thank
You
