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Judicialization and the Construction of Governance

Alec Stone Sweet

in On Law, Politics, and Judicialization

This paper, which was originally published in the journal Comparative Political Studies in 1999, is the second of two that elaborate a relatively general approach to judicial politics, which ... More

This paper, which was originally published in the journal Comparative Political Studies in 1999, is the second of two that elaborate a relatively general approach to judicial politics, which emphasizes the underlying social logics not just of law and courts but also of politics and government. The triad – two contracting parties and a dispute resolver – constitutes a primal social institution, a microcosm of governance, so in uncovering the institutional dynamics of the triad an essential logic of government itself is also uncovered; the objectives of this paper are to defend the validity of these contentions and to demonstrate their centrality to the discipline. After introducing the key concepts of dyad, triad, and normative structure, a model is presented of a particular mode of governance, i.e. the social mechanism by which the rules in place in any given community are adapted to the experiences and exigencies of those who live under them. The theory integrates, as interdependent factors, the evolution of strategic (utility-maximizing) behaviour and normative (cultural or rule-based) structure, and captures dynamics of change observable at both the micro level (the behaviour of individual actors), and the macro level (the institutional environment, or social structure, in which this behaviour takes place); the mechanisms of change that are endogenous to the model are specified, and the conditions under which these mechanisms would be expected to operate, and fail to operate, are identified. The model is then used to explain two hard cases of systemic change: the international trade regime, established by the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); and the French Fifth Republic, founded in 1958; the conclusion draws out some of the implications of the analysis for understanding of the complex relationship between strategic behaviour and social structure.Less

Globalization and Path-Dependent Institutional Change

Scott Wilson

in Remade in China: Foreign Investors and Institutional Change in China

This chapter reexamines previous works on institutional change and globalization. It also formulates a heuristic model to clarify the roles of states and multinational corporations (MNCs) in the ... More

This chapter reexamines previous works on institutional change and globalization. It also formulates a heuristic model to clarify the roles of states and multinational corporations (MNCs) in the process of path dependent institutional change. It begins with a brief discussion of the definition of institutions and the domestic and international factors that limit and compel institutional change. Then, it analyzes institutional dynamics at three tiers—macro, meso, and micro levels—with the state mediating the interplay of actors at the three levels. It concludes with a discussion of some of China’s particular features that affect how international and domestic agents influence institutional change. Moreover, it incorporates dynamics at the three levels by examining the state’s role in mediating the interplay of domestic dominant regimes with emerging sub-regimes that are shaped by various international institutions carried and diffused by MNCs, business organizations, and legal and management consultants.Less

How Conservatives Think about Campus: The Effects of College Reputations, Social Scenes, and Academics on Student Experience

Amy J. Binder and Kate Wood

in Becoming Right: How Campuses Shape Young Conservatives

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics—that is, the organizational arrangements, cultural ideas, and practices in place at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University—to see ... More

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics—that is, the organizational arrangements, cultural ideas, and practices in place at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University—to see how they affect student conservatism at both campuses. More specifically, it explores what conservative students say they find when they arrive on the Western Public and Eastern Elite campuses—and the degree to which students comment on their university's politics. The chapter first considers each university's reputation in the higher education sector and how a school's standing in the larger field of universities might influence students' perceptions of their experiences as conservatives in college. It then discusses extracurricular aspects of college life, focusing on the social and residential scene at each school, as well as academics. In particular, it analyzes how several aspects of scholastic life work on the two campuses and how they affect students' experiences as conservatives.Less

Dynamics of Institutional Choice

Joseph Jupille, Walter Mattli, and Duncan Snidal

in International Politics and Institutions in Time

When do actors USE available institutions, SELECT among alternative forums, CHANGE existing rules, or CREATE new arrangements? In this chapter the authors present their theory of boundedly rational ... More

When do actors USE available institutions, SELECT among alternative forums, CHANGE existing rules, or CREATE new arrangements? In this chapter the authors present their theory of boundedly rational institutional choice (USCC) which connects a wide range of institutional theories in arguing that institutional choice is driven by the interaction of cooperation problems and the institutional status quo. USCC theory accounts for the dynamics of institutional choices by combining agent and structural explanations, capturing the push–pull of boundedly rational action within a set of historically inherited rules. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of USCC theory for understanding international institutions in time.Less

Introduction: Institutions and Organizations: A Process View

Trish Reay, Tammar B. Zilber, Ann Langley, and Haridimos Tsoukas

in Institutions and Organizations: A Process View

Institutions—the taken-for-granted structures, practices, and meanings that define what people and organizations within their jurisdiction think, do, and aspire to—are all about process, even though ... More

Institutions—the taken-for-granted structures, practices, and meanings that define what people and organizations within their jurisdiction think, do, and aspire to—are all about process, even though this may not always have been evident in some of the institutional theory literature. In this introduction, the editors call for a strong process approach to institutional dynamics, one that highlights institutions as emergent, generative, political, and social. They first relate “weak” and “strong” process views with the two metaphors commonly used to explain institutionalization—diffusion and translation. After reviewing some of the recent developments within institutional theory that set the ground for a strong process view, they move to exemplify the potential of a strong process view for institutional theory. They then end the introduction with some suggestions that will contribute positively to the ongoing development of institutional theory through a strong process view.Less

Practices: Apparatus and Atelier

Xin Wei Sha

in Poiesis and Enchantment in Topological Matter

The motto "art all the way down," which harkens to the amodern working ethos of the preindustrial atelier, the Bauhaus fusion of craft and art, and the plenist ontological commitments driving our ... More

The motto "art all the way down," which harkens to the amodern working ethos of the preindustrial atelier, the Bauhaus fusion of craft and art, and the plenist ontological commitments driving our object-free approach to ontogenesis, prompts us to examine how such art practice and the critical studies of media arts and sciences can be sustained in the sociocultural and capital economies of the arts and the academy. What sort of working ethos can one derive to sustain the work of atelier-studio-labs like the Topological Media Lab or FoAM and their kin? Chapter 7 derives practices that draw from the collectivist practices of the engineering laboratory and the theater, as well as the more solitary aesthetico-economic practices of the art studio.Less

Robust Institutional Design: What Makes Some Institutions More Adaptable and Resilient to Changes in Their Environment Than Others?

Jenna Bednar

in Complexity and Evolution: Toward a New Synthesis for Economics

Institutions are designed to alter human behavior. To remain effective over time, institutions need to adapt to changes in the environment or the society the institution is meant to regulate. Douglas ... More

Institutions are designed to alter human behavior. To remain effective over time, institutions need to adapt to changes in the environment or the society the institution is meant to regulate. Douglas North referred to this property as adaptive efficiency and suggested the need for a model of how institutions change to remain effective. This essay contributes to a theory of adaptive efficiency by relating it to the burgeoning literature in robust system design. It reviews five models of institutional change, paying particular attention to each model’s ability to explain institutional adaptation. It isolates three common structural features of a robust, adaptive institutional system: diversity, modularity, and redundancy. It illustrates the theory with a brief application to federal systems, and closes by describing some open research questions relating to institutional adaptive efficiency.Less

The Institutional Complex of Trade and Environment: Toward an Interlocking Governance Structure and a Division of Labor

Thomas Gehring

in Managing Institutional Complexity: Regime Interplay and Global Environmental Change

Trade and the environment’s institutional dynamics are the main focus of the chapter. The chapter discusses the multilateral environmental agreements’ (MEAs) relationship with the world trade system ... More

Trade and the environment’s institutional dynamics are the main focus of the chapter. The chapter discusses the multilateral environmental agreements’ (MEAs) relationship with the world trade system and their influence on each other’s work, along with the evolvement of interlocking structures from the international institution’s interaction. It analyzes the institutional interaction’s causal mechanism micro-concept and the interlocking governance structure’s macro-concept in detail. The disruptive interaction between the World Trade Organization and MEAs leading to division of labor among the institutions is examined. The evolvement of a coherent interlocking governance structure is seen in trade and the environment’s institutional complex, which would limit the adverse interaction between the component institutions.Less

Life Cycle of an Innovation Commons

Jason Potts

in Innovation Commons: The Origin of Economic Growth

Chapter 7 examines a life-cycle view of an innovation trajectory that begins with an innovation commons, and considers what happens after the innovation commons collapses when entrepreneurial firms ... More

Chapter 7 examines a life-cycle view of an innovation trajectory that begins with an innovation commons, and considers what happens after the innovation commons collapses when entrepreneurial firms emerge (i.e., the fundamental transformation). This chapter explores how the governance role of an innovation commons will often reform and reconstitute to provide industry-specific public goods through collective action, usually in the form of an industry association. This governance function is associated with what in evolutionary theory is called niche construction. This evolutionary governance model of an innovation trajectory shows the complexities of innovation policy.Less

The Reconfigured Institutional Architecture of the State: The Rise of Fiscal and Monetary Authorities

Daniel Maman and Zeev Rosenhek

in Neoliberalism as a State Project: Changing the Political Economy of Israel

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics that have marked the reconfiguration of the Israeli state in the course of the transition to a neoliberal regime. In analyzing the transformation of ... More

This chapter examines the institutional dynamics that have marked the reconfiguration of the Israeli state in the course of the transition to a neoliberal regime. In analyzing the transformation of the state and its relationships with the economy, it first assesses changes in the institutional architecture of the state and then discusses the modes of action of pivotal state agencies and the patterns of relationships among them. Specifically, the ascendency of the two most powerful state agencies in charge of macroeconomic management—the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel—is examined, as well as the ways in which these actors promoted the adoption of particular reforms as key factors in the institutionalization of the neoliberal regime. The chapter claims that the incremental liberalization of the Israeli political economy was fundamentally molded by actions and interactions among state agencies striving to further their position within the political–economic field.Less

The responsiveness of social assistance policies

Menno Fenger, Martijn van der Steen, and Lieske van der Torre

in The responsiveness of social policies in Europe: The Netherlands in comparative perspective

This chapter analyses and explains the dynamics of social assistance policies in the Netherlands and reflects on the evolution of Dutch social assistance policies from a European comparative ... More

This chapter analyses and explains the dynamics of social assistance policies in the Netherlands and reflects on the evolution of Dutch social assistance policies from a European comparative perspective. It starts with a general overview of trends in social assistance policies throughout Europe and identifies key issues regarding the responsiveness of social assistance policies. It then analyses the Dutch case in detail. It offers a comprehensive overview of the development of the policies, the public preferences, socio-economic and societal dynamics and their interplay. Finally the chapter compares the responsiveness of the Dutch case with developments in other European countries and tries to explain the differences and similarities.Less

The responsiveness of labour migration policies

Menno Fenger, Martijn van der Steen, and Lieske van der Torre

in The responsiveness of social policies in Europe: The Netherlands in comparative perspective

This chapter analyses and explains the dynamics of labour migration policies in the Netherlands and reflects on the evolution of Dutch labour migration policies from a European comparative ... More

This chapter analyses and explains the dynamics of labour migration policies in the Netherlands and reflects on the evolution of Dutch labour migration policies from a European comparative perspective. It starts with a general overview of trends in labour migration policies throughout Europe and identifies key issues regarding the responsiveness of labour migration policies. It then analyses the Dutch case in detail. It offers a comprehensive overview of the development of the policies, the public preferences, socio-economic and societal dynamics and their interplay. Finally the chapter compares the responsiveness of the Dutch case with developments in other European countries and tries to explain the differences and similarities.Less

A Constitutionalized Doctrine of Precedent and the Marleasing Principle as Bases for a European Legal Methodology †

Justine Pila

in The Europeanization of Intellectual Property Law: Towards a European Legal Methodology

This chapter builds the bridge between European intellectual property law and a Europeal legal methodology. The author stresses that intellectual property is embedded in broader socio-legal context ... More

This chapter builds the bridge between European intellectual property law and a Europeal legal methodology. The author stresses that intellectual property is embedded in broader socio-legal context and that it should not be insulated from the general European legal order Taking European patent law as an example, the author notes that the more European institutions exist, the more there may be undesired institutional dynamics. The author favours a model which is based on the Marleasing principle, which requires national institutions to give full effect to European directives while at the same time respecting their own legal cultures. She also considers the principle of proportionality as an important device for balancing intellectual property against competing rights. A European doctrine of precedent should not be dominated by centralist top-down decision-making, but by mutual borrowing and influencingLess

Compliance Measures

in Between Law and Diplomacy: The Social Contexts of Disputing at the World Trade Organization

This chapter shows how the relationships between law and diplomacy, between meaning and strategic action, and the impact of institutional dynamics, are manifest in contested meanings and practices ... More

This chapter shows how the relationships between law and diplomacy, between meaning and strategic action, and the impact of institutional dynamics, are manifest in contested meanings and practices associated with mobilizing the WTO's compliance mechanisms. Compliance mechanisms define for practitioners the meaning of winning and losing at the WTO and what they can reasonably expect as an outcome of litigation. The first section of the chapter begins by reviewing prior assessments of the use of compliance measures and describing the procedural uncertainties associated with mobilizing them, and the second section examines the domestic politics of compliance. The last section draws on ideas from the sociology of punishment to show the complex meanings of compliance at the WTO.Less

Making the State Pay: Violence and the Politicization of Crime in Comparative Perspective

Lisa L. Miller

in American Exceptionalism in Crime and Punishment

This chapter argues that the literature on the politics of punishment generally, and on US exceptionalism specifically, suffers from insufficient attention to serious violence. It complicates ... More

This chapter argues that the literature on the politics of punishment generally, and on US exceptionalism specifically, suffers from insufficient attention to serious violence. It complicates conventional assumptions about democratic politics, mass publics, and crime. Drawing on three cases—the United Kingdom, the United States, and the state of Pennsylvania—this chapter illustrates that rates of violence matter for political attention to crime. It also shows that the politicization of crime does not always lead to a singular focus on punishment and that this politicization in the United States is shaped by both high rates of violence and distinctive institutional dynamics that decouple crime from related social and economic insecurities. The consequence is an (exceptional) political process in the United States that makes it difficult for the polity to make the state pay for high rates of violence and the criminogenic conditions that give rise to them.Less

The Governance of Infrastructure in Multiparty Presidentialism

Marcus André Melo and Carlos Pereira

in The Governance of Infrastructure

This chapter explores the political and institutional factors explaining the dismal performance in the implementation of infrastructure investment programmes in Brazil. Rather than simply stating ... More

This chapter explores the political and institutional factors explaining the dismal performance in the implementation of infrastructure investment programmes in Brazil. Rather than simply stating that poor infrastructure is a constraint to economic growth and productivity, this chapter focuses on the political reasons why the choices have led to underperformance and persisted over time. By factoring into the analysis political and institutional dynamics, we identify which interest groups are affected by infrastructure policy and which political actors are involved in making those choices. By focusing on the preferences and relative powers of these actors, as well as on their interaction in terms of coalition management—all of which are determined by political institutions—a clearer picture emerges of the determinants of policy choices and outcomes that emphasises the trade-offs, restrictions and interdependencies with other policy areas that are crucial given the ‘general equilibrium’ nature of those choices.Less