Historical Institutionalism

Abstract

The historical institutionalism focuses on seeking the historical sense of the world. The historical institutionalists focus on issues that are with specific timeframe and place. They have become historical by being sensitive to time and the possibilities that are available due to path dependence. They rely on this argument to provide an understanding of the way institutions try to prevent change. These instituionalists also focus on the consistence of outcomes and political processes. They highlight that the convergence in the political processes. The historical institutionalism also helped to initiate the feminist historical institutionalism according to which the institutions should change by increasing the feminist interactions. This will be done to change the gendered based structures through persistent and long term feminist interaction with the institutions.

Abstractii

Introduction1

Discussion1

New Institutionalism1

Rational Choice Institutionalism2

Sociological Institutionalism3

Historical Institutionalism4

Comparison between Various Institutionalisms6

Contemporary Political Science and Historical Institutionalism7

Path Dependence8

Advanced Political Economies and Institutional Change9

Feminist Institutionalism10

Feminist Historical Institutionalism11

Fourth Form on Institutionalism12

Conclusion13

Works Cited15

Historical Institutionalism

Introduction

Institutionalism is the system of institutions that have established forms (www.thefreedictionary.com). In political science, there have been the introductions of different types of institutionalisms that have been developed due to the behavioral setting. From among the four new institutionalisms, this research paper focuses on historical institutionalism and its framework. The institutions are based on rules, standard operating procedures and norms that help to understand the political institutions. This research paper also highlights the historical institutionalism's link with path dependence. This paper further explains the feminist institutionalism that is based on the historical institutionalism.

Discussion

New Institutionalism

It is a term that is used in the political science. The ambiguities that surround new institutionalism can be made clear through the recognition that it does not consist of a unified body of thought (Clemens and Cook, p. 01). In fact, there are three different approaches that have been developed and each one of them calls itself new institutionalism (Thelen, p. 278). These three schools of thoughts are the rational choice institutionalism, sociological institutionalism and historical institutionalism (Bell, P. 16). These approaches have been developed in reaction to the behavioral perspectives. All of them focus on explaining the role of institutions in the determination of political and social outcomes (Hall and Taylor, pp 05- 19).

Rational Choice Institutionalism

This institutionalism and historical institutionalism was developed at the same time. The rational choice institutionalism was formed through the study of American congressional behavior. The observation of a significant paradox provided a basis for its inspiration. If the traditional rational choice postulates were considered to be correct then the securing of stable majorities for the legislation in the congress of US will be difficult. However, considerable stability is seen by the congressional outcomes. Many insitutionalists argued that there exists a stable majority because of the presence of rules and committees in Congress and the information that is available to the members (Jonsson and Tallberg, p. 04). There are some rules that provide the control which limits the sequence and range of the options that are faced by the congressional ...