Revisiting institutional stability: A systematic review and distillations of dominant modes

The concept of institutional stability has been explored from multiple disciplinary lenses and is associated with a variety of theories and frameworks, masking important variation in the mechanisms and modes of institutional stability, and complicating our understanding of how and why institutions are maintained over time. This is particularly salient to questions of environmental governance, where the recent pace and magnitude of both political and environmental change necessitates more careful attention to the capacity of existing institutions to persist or adapt. Here, we conduct a systematic review to examine the treatment of institutional stability in the literature to determine whether dominant or consistent conceptualizations of institutional stability are present. Beginning with a list of 21 synonyms for stability as used in the literature, we assembled a raw dataset of 23,379 manuscripts in print or published between 1976 and August 2019. Papers were then screened to ensure a theoretical or empirical analysis of institutional stability, resulting in a final dataset of 165 unique manuscripts. From our review, we propose two separate axes—directionality and intentionality—upon which four separate modes of stability may be arrayed. Termed passive stability, active stability, intended inaction, and failed action, we find that each is characterized by distinct mechanisms and captures specific concepts detailed in the extant literature. Though we believe our typology to have the potential to provide for a more precise analysis of institutional stability and associated policy and resource outcomes, further research is necessary to demonstrate its applicability.

Duke Scholars

Author Leila Chelbi