Weak Institution

A weak institution is an institution in decline. An institution is commonly defined as a stable, durable, and valued arrangement that prescribes and prohibits specific behavior for specific situations. An institution can take various forms (think of a respected custom, a long-standing law, or a widely admired organization). When its influence wanes, and it is no longer taken for granted but formally still persists, we speak of a weak institution.

A good example is the declining importance of marriage in many Western countries. The church, which in many countries has lost its once-dominant position in state and society, provides another instructive example. Some types of organizations—think of unions and newspapers—have seen their influence in society gradually diminish. In the public sector, defining organizations can lose their mythical status without being terminated; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are clear examples.

Institutions have a built-in tendency to weaken in time: The same mechanisms that drive institutionalization account for the reverse process of deinstitutionalization. Institutions typically evolve as adaptive responses to critical problems; effective responses are repeated and embedded in rules, routines, customs, and organizational cultures and structures. As the responses prove their worth over time, people begin to value and reproduce them.

However, the embedding of certain behavioral repertoires for specific situations undermines their flexibility. As the context changes, once-effective courses of action lose their relevance or may even become counterproductive. Institutions persist until it becomes clear to all that the prescribed behavior no longer works. This constitutes an institutional crisis.

An institutional crisis marks the moment when once-valued responses become widely recognized as dysfunctional. The institution becomes delegitimized as it loses societal and political support. Its deep roots in society and its valued history of effectiveness—a hallmark of institutionalization—usually save an institution from immediate termination. But if nothing is done to revive an institution, it will eventually flounder and disappear.

The effects of weakening institutions tend to be significant. Public institutions, by definition, exert an ordering effect on (substantial parts of) the public sector; processes of deinstitutionalization tend to cause confusion, fragmentation, and stress. The weakening of an institution invites restorative efforts or may give rise, in time, to a new institution.

Deinstitutionalization is not an irreversible process. After an institutional crisis occurs, a realignment of the institution with societal and political expectations can lead to institutional restoration. A key factor in the rise and fall of institutions is the capacity to adapt without sacrificing the valued core of the institution. This capacity does not automatically evolve; it has to be built into an institution.