INSTITUTIONALISM

Institutions and their role

in shaping European Security
Institutions
• include any form of constraint (formal or informal)
that human beings devise to shape their interaction
• reduce uncertainty by establishing a stable structure
to human interaction

Contemporary approaches to institutionalism

• Historical institutionalism (1960s)
• Rational choice instutionalism (late 1970s)
• Sociological institutionalism (late 1970s)
 Historical institutionalism

• formal political institutions matter: but which ones

and how?
• the institutional structure of the polity is a crucial
factor behind behaviour and outcomes
• ‘structuralism’ (institutions) vs. ‘functionalism’
(needs)
• a state consists of institutions which are able to
influence group conflict
Key concepts of historical institutionalism

Institutions:

• organizations
• rules, conventions, norms, etc.
• provide an environment for individuals, who
benefit by following certain patterns of behaviour
• disproportionately distribute power across social
groups
• are central in determining historical development
• are never a single factor
 Rational choice institutionalism

• draws on ‘new economics of organization’ and ‘theories

of agency’
• institutions are both object and consequence of choice
• development of institutions lowers the cost of
undertaking the same activity without them
• superiors (principals) monitor and influence behaviour
of their subordinates (agents)
Key concepts of rational choice institutionalism
• Relevant actors have a fixed set of preferences or
tastes
• Politics is a series of collective action dilemmas
• Institutions structure interactions, providing actors
with exchange mechanisms, which leads to
potentially better outcomes
• Institutions are created by voluntary agreement by
actors who share common goals/values, in order
to realize them (gains from cooperation => origins
of institutions)
 Sociological institutionalism

• Originates from the subfield of organization theory

• Institutions are:
- culturally-specific
- moral templates
• Individuals internalize the norms associated with
institutional roles (=> identity and preferences)
• Individuals perceive their actions in a particular context
Studies of international institutions

• Early postwar period (LoN, UN, GATT, IMF)

• Behaviouralism

• Neofunctionalism

• International regimes
 Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye
 Power and Interdependence: World Politics in Transition
(1977)
 international issues, developments in technology, global
trade will create a new environment where states and their
use of force will be of little importance

 After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World

Political Economy (1984)
 ‘prisoner’s dilemma’
 hegemony: a contributing factor, not a necessary condition
 international regimes
• collective action
• transaction costs (bounded rationality)
• uncertainty and information deficit
Institutional theories

 liberal institutionalism

 collective security theory

 critical theory
Debates since 1980s
• How institutions matter?
• Do they really have an impact on state behaviour?
• Collaboration vs. coordination
• Interactive theories (domestic politics)

Institutionalism vs. realism

John Mearsheimer (1994)
 insitutions are only reflecting distribution of power
 liberal institutionalism ignores relative gains
 collective security theory is unrealistic
 critical theory aims at replacing realism with utopian expectations
 the three theories have inadequate empirical record
International theory and security relations
• states cooperate to pursue common interests
• harmony not implied
• reciprocity, accountability, cooperative strategies
• information and signalling mechanisms

Security institutions:
• military force
• use of threat
• vital interests

Security institutions: effects

• strategies / state security policies
• outcomes (altering power resources)
• influence (soft power)
• ideas and norms
 NATO: still here?
• level of institutionalization
• exclusive vs. inclusive model
• threats and risks
• adaptability: hybrid institutions
• the nature of European environment
• member-state commitment
• hybrid nature => security management
CFSP/ESDP
• substantive policy outcome
• explicit aspirations
• exogenous and endogenous factors
• functional and normative principles
• internalizaton
OSCE
• 1994 institutionalization of CSCE reflecting
changing scope of operations