Understanding Institutional Weakness: Power and Design in Latin American Institutions (Elements in Politics and Society in Latin America)

Brinks, Daniel M.

ISBN 10: 1108738885 / ISBN 13: 9781108738880

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2019

About this Item

Seller Inventory # V9781108738880

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Understanding Institutional Weakness: Power and Design in Latin American Institutions (Elements in Politics and Society in Latin America)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1108738885
• ISBN 13: 9781108738880
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This Element introduces the concept of institutional weakness, arguing that weakness or strength is a function of the extent to which an institution actually matters to social, economic or political outcomes. It then presents a typology of three forms of institutional weakness: insignificance, in which rules are complied with but do not affect the way actors behave; non-compliance, in which state elites either choose not to enforce the rules or fail to gain societal cooperation with them; and instability, in which the rules are changed at an unusually high rate. The Element then examines the sources of institutional weakness.

Book Description

Political scientists have long said 'institutions matter' without too carefully specifying what that means and how we would know. This book offers the conceptual tools for understanding when institutions are strong, when they are weak, when they matter and when they do not.