It Happened Here: Political Opportunity, the New Institutionalism, and the Townsend Movement

Understanding governmental activism

“…Such increased governmental independence raises the potential for conflict, as no single governmental player may be powerful enough to make authoritative decisions on its own (Hajer, 2009). This implies that the agency of governmental players will become more manifest as they try to strengthen their position vis-à-vis each other to influence decision-making processes (Amenta, Dunleavy & Bernstein, 1994, p. 682;Amenta & Zylan, 1991). Another implication is that governmental players become more dependent on non-governmental players to make stronger claims and expand their influence.…”

Social Movements and Institutional Analysis

“…It lets scholars go beyond simple power elite or interest group arguments about agency and change to consider how extant institutions block access, provide challengers with lever and openings, and otherwise condition actors' ability to translate numbers, resources or organization into change. Moreover, in exploring relations between movements, contexts and outcomes, institutionalists have made good use of research on political opportunity structure (McAdam 1999;Tarrow 1998;McAdam, Tarrow, & Tilly 2002) and related arguments about institutional mediation (Amenta, Carruthers, & Zylan 1992;Amenta & Zylan 1991) and institutional contingency (Thornton & Occasio 1999;Bartley & Schneiberg 2002;Schneiberg Clemens 2006;Lounsbury 2007), supporting a deepening integration of movements research and neo-institutional analysts.…”

“…They are arguments that political or institutional configurations amplify or blunt the effects of movement numbers, resources or activities on policies, paths and change. And they can be implemented empirically in relatively straightforward ways (Amenta & Zylan 1991;Amenta et al 1992;Schneiberg 2002;Soule & Olzak 2004;Soule 2004). …”

Ancien et nouvel institutionnalisme dans l’étude de la politique contestataire

“…Dans ce sens, la perspective institutionnaliste a attribué à l'État un rôle crucial et, ce faisant, elle a dirigé l'étude de la politique contestataire dans une nouvelle direction par rapport aux approches comportementalistes et rationalistes qui l'ont précédée. Cependant, contrairement à ce que d'aucuns ont affirmé 35 , il s'agit là d'un ancien institutionnalisme, dans la mesure où l'analyse porte exclusivement sur les institutions politiques. Nous croyons que, dans ce domaine d'étu-des comme dans les sciences sociales en général, on a récemment assisté à l'émergence d'un nouvel institutionnalisme, vers lequel nous allons maintenant nous tourner.…”