Rediscovering Institutions by March and Olsen

James G. March and Johan P. Olsen (1989) provide a fresh perspective on institutions in their book Rediscovering Institutions. As Terry M. Moe (1991, p. 106) points out, "In some fashion or another, political scientists spend much of their time trying to understand organizations," and this is precisely what March and Olsen attempt to do as they think through the political dynamics of organizations in their book. Taking an institutional perspective on politics, they note that institutions have become larger and more complex than in the past, thus challenging traditional organizational theory. As they address the gap between traditional theory and the realities of modern institutions, they identify a number of themes that characterize the new organizational theories-contextualism, rules, and meaning.

The authors identify contextualism as resulting from the loss of the state's "centrality in the discipline," noting along with Easton (1968) that "politics mirrors its context" (March & Olsen, 1989, p. 3). This shift is analogous to the shift in society from a reliance on traditional ethical values that were derived from a central moral or religious tradition to that of situation ethics, where the ethics of any given situation is predicated on the situation instead of on any moral authority. Thus, context becomes everything. Consistent with contextualism is the authors' assertion that in the new political world, "Alliances are formed and broken...Rarely ca

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become chaotic and conflicted. Thus, rules can make it easier for individuals of different "interests, values, and worldviews" to work together effectively by creating a normative unifying standard (March & Olsen, 1989, pp. 22, 24). Meaning is the third salient theme in the book, and the authors link it closely to contextualism, stating that "Meaning develops within a context of action" (March & Olsen, 1989, p. 49). They point out that the arguments people organize are designed to "create and sustain a belief in the wisdom of the action chosen" and that "Understandings of events and their value are connected to previous understandings, to the understandings of other people, and to social linkages of friendship and trust" (March & Olsen, 1989, p. 40). Here again, the authors veer toward a context-based perspective. They argue that, contrary to "the premise that life is organized around choice," it is "not only, or primarily, choice but also interpretations" (March & Olsen, 1989, p. 51). They see politics, in fact, as "creat[ing], confirm[ing], or modify[ing] interpretations of life" (March & Olsen, 1989, p. 48). Based on these three salient themes, the authors address the transformation of political

Category: Government - R