The study of institutionalism is a wide array of institutions that support societies.

It is one
of the foundations for a legal framework that allows us to have rights. They also regulate
financial stability. Adding to this, it also provides social insurance and safeguard
security. In short, it provides a framework of rules, social norms and understood
processes.

Institutionalism

● A general approach to governance and social science.

● It concentrates on institutions and studies them using inductive, historical, and
comparative methods (Bevir 2009).
● Studies how institutions achieve balance and stability as they manipulate their
different regulative, normative, and cognitive functions.

Institutions

● According to Alejandra Gonzalez (2016) are patterns, routines, norms, rules, and
schemes that govern and direct social thought and action.
● An approach that aims to understand and analyze how actions, thoughts, and
meanings penetrate the social consciousness deeply enough to embed
themselves into the social psyche.
● It includes any form of constraint (formal or informal) that human beings devise to
shape their interaction. (Arthur S. Abulencia 2017)
● They are also social political, economic, and cultural structures, customs,
practices, and mechanisms of social cooperation, order and governance that
determine the rules of games that govern the behavior of individuals.Institutions
are manifest in both formal organizations and informal social order and
organization (Arthur S. Abulencia 2017)

Features of Institutions
● Institutions are a structural feature of society or politics. They are created with the
only reason: decrease uncertainty.
● Stable over time.
● They must pose constraints and affect individual behavior of its members.

Institutionalism as defined by Abulencia, et al (2017) is a method by which scholars

take institutions as subjects of study to find and trace patterns and sequences of social,
political, economic behavior and change across time and space. It relies heavily on
case studies, and most of these studies rely heavily on the study of formal institutions or
formal rules. Moreover, they were highly normative and deterministic, such as the
linearity of history as Hegel, Marx and others did. Marx's arguments relied on "social
class", Weber on "bureaucracy', Durkheim on "the division of labor", which identifies it
as the sole determination of social changes.

Institutionalism is the study that an institution has a long lineage. It draws lessons and
insights from previous works in different fields. These include economics, political
sciences, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. It is also characterized by its
emphasis on history.

Types of Institutionalism
Old Institutionalism - Characterized itself by legalism, structuralism, holism,
historicism, and normative analysis (Peters 1999).
New Institutionalism - Avoids the deterministic approaches
to history and emphasizes the autonomous role of institutions
in shaping human behavior and history. Institutions are treated as “actors" making
choices based on some "collective" interests, preferences, goals, alternatives, and
expectations. This is referred to as "rationality”.

Contemporary Approaches to Institutionalism

Historical Institutionalism - The actors are both determined by and are producers of
history. Ellen Immergut (1998) recognizes that institutions operate in an environment
consisting of other institutions, called the institutional environment. Much of the research
deals with the influence of institutions on human behavior through rules, norms, and
another framework. Moreover, it is path dependent.
Rational Choice Institutionalism - Explains behavior of individuals by emphasizing
how institutions can create situations in which rational choice/collective action
paradoxes are resolved. It relies on the assumption that actors will act rationally in
response to this structure of costs and benefits, and seek to maximize their utility while
minimizing costs (Arthur S. Abulencia 2017).
Sociological Institutionalism - Behavior can be explained by reference institutions
whose form and structure are importantly influenced by culture as well as by function,
with "culture" referencing symbols, ceremonies, etc., that are specific to modes of
activities not just territorial regions (Arthur S. Abulencia 2017).

Formal and Informal Institutions

Formal institutions are those officially established in one

way or another, often by the government whereas informal
institutions are not officially established but are practices commonly
accepted throughout society. It also applies to socio-cultural.
economic, and political conditions in society where we belong.

Formal organizations, generally identified as "institutions," may be deliberately and

intentionally created by people in society to satisfy basic needs for existence. The
development and function of institutions in general may seem universal in all societies.
Institutions develop and function in a pattern similar to social organizations but cover a
more defined and focused goal and have a larger scope of operation, which goes
beyond the conscious intentions of the individual humans involved (Myla M. Arcinas
2016).

Examples of formal institutions include:

● Parliament
● US Presidency
● Courts
● Government Departments
● Political Parties
● Rules
● Law

Informal institutions play major roles that affect the formal institutions in society.
Examples of these are nongovernmental organizations, community organizations,
foundations and/or people's organizations that can affect the political or economic
landscape of a given society. Informal institutions have set rules that are also anchored
on the formal institutions, but there are informal institutions that aim to challenge rules
or norms of formal institutions (Myla M. Arcinas 2016).

Examples of these informal Institutions are:

● Community Groups
● Voting Coalitions
● Policy Networks
● Norms
● Tradition

Theorists of Institutionalism

David Mitrany
Father of Functionalism in international relations which is
classified under liberal institutionalism. Functionalism, as applied to
the study of states, proposes an alternative territorialism, which is
the foundation from which states derive their power of authority
from territory. Functionalism explains that a state's authority lies in
function needs, and the ability to provide those needs. It sees
scientific knowledge and technological advancements as sources
of authority from which the state can derive its power. Territory then
becomes negligible and focuses instead on expertise and the ability
to produce what is needed by the people or other states (Alejandria-
Gonzalez 2016).

Jean Monnet
One of the originators of the European Union, he saw how the needs of the state
are to be achieved through the principle of supranationality. As Mitrany argued against
territory being the source of authority, Monnet used the argument to erase country
borderlines (Alejandria-Gonzalez2016).

Stephen Krasner
Krasner argues that the American government and nongovernment organizations
should prioritize the stabilization of weakened states so that American interests would
be protected. To address the continued deterioration of weaker states, he suggests
creation of institutions that will allow the weaker states to enter a market democracy.
Krasner sees the foreign policies and other political objectives of America as a direct
reflection of the US president's agenda and goals. Krasner also argued that the formal
Institutions of the US come from the decisions made by the president, but bureaucratic
processes convey the idea that many people decided on these matters and not just the
president. He holds that the president's power to control, manipulate, and create
policies is seemingly perceived as being dissipated by the bureaucratic machinery
(Alejandria-Gonzalez
2016).

APPLICATION OF INSTITUTIONALISM IN THE SOCIETY

Political
Political Party (e.g. PDP-LABAN, Nacionalista Party, Lakas- CMD, Nationalist People's
Coalition, etc) - a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power. Its
function is to mobilize the growing mass of voters as the means of political control.
Party list System - a mechanism of proportional representation in the election of
representatives to the House of Representatives from national, regional and sectoral
parties or organizations or coalitions thereof registered with the Commission on
Elections (COMELEC).

Economic
NEDA - The National Economic and Development Authority (Filipino: Pambansang
Pangasiwaan sa Kabuhayan at Pagpapaunlad) is an independent cabinet-level agency
of the Philippine government responsible for economic development and planning.
DOF - The Department of Finance is responsible for the management of the
government's financial resources. Its duties include policy formulation, revenue
generation, resource mobilization, debt management, and financial market
development.
DPWH - The Department of Public Works and Highways has implemented
BUILD-BUILD-BUILD Program which is the centerpiece program of the Duterte
administration that aims to usher in the "Golden age of infrastructure" in the Philippines.
Lack of infrastructure has long been cited as the "Achilles' heel" of Philippine economic
development.

Socio-Cultural
DSWD - The Department of Social Welfare and Development has
a 4Ps Program - the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which
is a human development measure of the national government
that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor,
to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children
aged 0-18. It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer
(CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries, which
have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.
NCCA - The National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the Philippines is the
overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation,
development and promotion of Philippine arts and culture and is responsible for
effectively and efficiently achieving the implementation of cultural programs as well as
maximizing resources.