THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

myths and ceremonies devised by many societies and assimilated into various organizations.
However, critics have argued that by relying on the above metaphors, sociological
institutionalists fail to specify the casual processes through which structures enable and
empower actors and the constituted actions. As a result they neglect the important role of
agency in policy making and their theory of action leaves the impression that actors blindly
follow institutional adopts and cues around them. 252
The sociological institutionalists are also accused of being too specific and supportive of
local/cultural knowledge. This is based on the fact that sociological institutional explanations
are arrived at inductively rather than deductively and hence can lend insight into individuals’
reasons for actions. 253 However, Katzenstein notes that there is a big danger for
generalizations because sociological institutionalism can appear culturally deterministic
where it emphasizes the cultural routines and rituals to the exclusion of individual action
which breaks out cultural norm, that is to say rule making and rule creation as opposed to rule
following action. 254
In summary, the most intriguing question that motivated this exposition is; what exactly are
institutions and what is institutionalism? The examination in this chapter made an exploration
of the theoretical underpinning regarding the concepts of institutions and institutionalism. In
the process, we have seen the role of institutions in mediating political and economic as well
as social order. However, it is striking to note that although no single branch of
institutionalism can be used in total isolation of the other, it is also an uphill task to combine
the three approaches. In the subsequent chapters, we shall examine the institutional process
that shape natural resource regimes in Kenya. Specifically, our study shall benefit from the
tenets of historical and sociological institutionalism in making this evaluation.
252
Meyer, J. W. and W.R, Scott. 1983. Organizational Environments: Ritual and Rationality. California: Sage
Publications.
253
Pettigrew, A.M. 1997. What is processual analysis? In Scandinavian Journal of Management 13 (4):337-348.
254
Katzenstein, P. J. 1986. Cultural Norms and National Security: Policy and Military in Post war Japan.
Ithaca/New York: Cornell University Press.
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