Historical Institutionalism
The historical institutionalism school believes that institutional factors account for differences in cross-national political outcomes. There are two elements:
- Institutions could shape actor preferences by structuring incentives, redistributing power, and by influencing the cultural context.
- History is "path dependent." Choices or events early in the process can force a path from which it becomes increasingly difficult to deviate.
Theda Skocpol's work illustrates an example of historical institutionalism. Responses to the Great Depression of the 1930s differed greatly between Sweden and the United Kingdom, which had similar problems in terms of severity and duration. The two countries responded with vastly different policies due to differences in existing domestic institutional structures.
Read more about this topic: Institutionalism In International Relations
Famous quotes containing the word historical:
“Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)