Browsing by Subject "Path dependence"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
Ethnic groups at ‘critical junctures’: The Laz vs. Kurds
(Taylor & Francis, 2012-03) Sarigil, Z.
Open Access
Paths are what actors make of them
(Routledge, 2009-04) Sarigil, Z.
Several institutionalist orientations such as historical institutionalism, especially its earlier versions, tend to treat institutional or policy change as a result of exogenous factors. Some others, on the other hand, emphasize endogenous sources of change. It has, however, already been shown theoretically and empirically that institutions may face both endogenous and/or exogenous triggers in their lifetime. This study suggests that we should get beyond this fruitless debate and focus on the more intriguing question of why some internal or external triggers create major changes while others do not. This study suggests that some external or internal developments are more likely to trigger change than others because they carry with them certain meanings or ideas for change entrepreneurs. This implies that paying more attention to agency would significantly improve the historical institutionalist account of institutional or policy change. These arguments are illustrated by an analysis of recent institutional changes in the area of cultural rights in Turkey, i.e. in the Kurdish issue.
Open Access
Showing the path to path dependence: the habitual path
(Cambridge University Press, 2015) Sarigil, Z.
This article investigates the conceptual and theoretical implications of the logic of habit for the path-dependence approach. In the existing literature, we see two different logics of action associated with two distinct models of path dependence: the logic of consequences (instrumental rationality) is linked with utilitarian paths (i.e. increasing returns) and the logic of appropriateness (normative rationality) constitutes normative paths (normative lock-in). However, this study suggests that despite its popularity, the path-dependence approach remains underspecified owing to its exclusion or neglect of the logic of habit, which constitutes a distinct mechanism of reproduction or self-reinforcement in the institutional world. This article, therefore, introduces the notion of the 'habitual path' as a different model of path dependence. Although the idea of the habitual path is complementary with the existing models, owing to its distinctive notions of agency and mechanisms of path reproduction, it offers a different interpretation of continuity or regularity. Thus, by enriching the path-dependence approach, the notion of the habitual path would contribute to our comprehension of continuities and discontinuities in the political world. © 2014 European Consortium for Political Research.