Engaging with Sociological Institutionalism: Addressing the Gaps and Silences

Sociological institutionalism has gained considerable currency in political analysis, using considerations of norms, rules, identity and culture in shaping behaviour. It can be seen as an advance upon pure rational choice models, as it introduces the idea that action is shaped by more than instrumental utility calculations. However, sociological institutionalism itself is not a panacea for explaining political behaviour. As such, the central research question of this paper is: what are the gaps within the sociological institutionalism approach? This paper uses the emerging approach of constructivist institutionalism to examine these gaps in sociological institutionalism. Using this approach, it engages with sociological institutionalism to identify how its ontological assumptions prevent it from addressing relevant issues in political analysis. Due to its reliance on the logics of appropriateness as its underlying assumption, sociological institutionalism predicts equilibrium, which for constructivist institutionalists means that it is unable to account for complex post-formation change, agency, and sophisticated accounts of power. -- Relevance to Development Studies -- This analysis has relevance to development studies as it looks at the ways in which development-related policies are analysed, using the example of human security. The comparison of sociological institutionalism and constructivist institutionalism introduces the reader to the diversity of approaches in looking at political and policy analysis, as well as their commonalities and tensions.