APPLIED

EXTITUTIONAL THEORY

An interdisciplinary workshop on the intersection between theory and practice.

The ability of individuals to influence one another is a fundamental characteristic of all social systems, and is a key determinant for the emergence of complex social organisations. Interaction among individuals underlies all social processes, including the development of social structures such as communities, families, companies, governments, and other types of institutions, often established with a view to achieve a particular objective that they could not achieve on their own. Several theoretical frameworks and conceptual toolkits have been developed in a variety of disciplines to understand the ways in which individuals organise themselves into larger social structures, and how these social structures in turn contribute to shaping individual attitudes, behaviours, ideas and beliefs. Most of these theoretical frameworks revolve around the notion of institutions and the process of institutionalisation, focusing on the structural properties of social organisations which are specifically geared towards the formalisation and the crystallization of certains social interactions in the long term. Yet, such theoretical frameworks often omit the significance of the social dynamics that operate these social structures. 

During this 5 days workshop, we will explore a novel theoretical framework to analyse the interplay between formalized social structures that are commonly described as “institutions” and the underlying social dynamics that animate these institutions, also known as “extitutions''. Using a series of case studies to explore the dialectic between these two components of social organisations (the institutional and the extitutional components), we will investigate the extent to which they are both necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of social systems.

Yet, the mere fact of observing these social systems through the lenses of institutional theory will ultimately favour institutional dynamics over extitutional ones. Hence, the outcome of the workshop will be to elaborate alternative perspectives from a variety of disciplines, as an attempt to identify potential venues for promoting and fostering extitutional dynamics.