Discursive Institutionalism Research Articles

Internal CSR and the decline of organised labour: a possible elective affinity?

Purpose This paper aims to explore the potential relationship between internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the decline of organised labour in countries of the global North. Given the opposing trends since the late 20th century and the widespread adherence of internationally recognised labour standards in CSR codes, standards, and reporting frameworks, questions arise about the disparity between CSR rhetoric and practice regarding the collective rights of in-house employees. The paper further explores the tendency in CSR scholarship to overlook violations of collective rights for in-house employees in the global North. Design/methodology/approach To examine whether there is an elective affinity between the rise of CSR and the decline of organised labour, the paper uses a discursive institutionalism approach, providing a meta-theoretical analysis of academic literature on internal CSR. A scoping review methodology was used to identify relevant literature and compile it into an empirical corpus for a metatheoretical analysis. The empirical corpus, consisting of 38 articles, was generated through a Google Scholar (GS) search guided by the following questions: (1) What are the dominant conceptual framings of internal CSR? (2) What are the dominant roles and practical aspects of internal CSR? Findings The paper identifies two key disparities in the literature: (1) between rhetoric and practice regarding the collective rights of in-house employees in the global North and (2) between the extensive CSR research on violations of collective rights of value chain workers and the limited attention to in-house employees’ collective rights. The analysis highlights two factors contributing to these disparities: the integration of internal CSR into the corporate managerial toolbox and the distinction in CSR discourse between core labour standards and workplace issues. The analysis shows that internal CSR has an elective affinity with the decline of organised labour. Research limitations/implications While scoping reviews are often standalone studies, this paper used the methodology for its stated purpose. Limitations include the broad span of internal CSR across various academic fields and reliance solely on GS. Measures taken to enhance inclusivity were unlimited review period, refined inclusion criteria and keywords during the selection process and cross-checks of cited articles. Social implications Considering the implications of the decline of organised labour on workers’ collective voice, poverty and the distribution gap in wealth and income, this paper suggests that for CSR to play a significant role in advancing sustainable social justice, scholars and practitioners should look at ways to reduce the disparity between rhetoric and practice regarding employees’ voice and collective rights. Originality/value The paper lays the foundation for a better understanding of the potential links between internal CSR and the decline of organised labour. It addresses a gap in the literature on the interrelations between CSR and organised labour in the global North and proposes root causes of this gap. This contribution enriches the scarce literature exploring the potential elective affinity between CSR and transformations in the global economy and labour markets since the late 1980s. Finally, the paper deepens the understanding of the implications of CSR for employees’ collective rights and voice as well as for organised labour.

Teachers’ values in a space of change: The idea of teacher assistants as re-negotiation of teacher professionalism

ABSTRACT Teacher professionalism has long been subject to contestation as embedded with certain ideas, norms and values. Transnational discourses on teacher professionalism have spurred the recontextualisation of the idea of teacher assistants in Swedish educational reform. Policy imperatives around increasing teachers’ professional responsibility and accountability have raised issues regarding what values around teacher professionalism ought to be prioritised. The aim of this article is to explore teachers’ values regarding professional responsibility in the compulsory school context based on the interaction with teacher assistants and in light of policy discourses on teacher professionalism. The concept of “discursive space” is utilised to explore juxtaposed values within the local and across national and transnational levels. This concept is based in a combination of discursive institutionalism and curriculum theory with an actor-centred approach around ideas and discourses in an institutional context. The analysis shows dilemmas around holistic aspects and fragmentation regarding professional responsibility, but also, possibilities when “sharing” responsibilities with teacher assistants. Dilemmas emerge around questions on purpose and temporal struggles. Dilemmas emerge regarding professional responsibility against accountability purposes and result-orientation. Re-negotiation of teacher professionalism is spurred by the idea of teacher assistants, and surrounding discourses, creating dilemmas for teachers in the negotiated discursive space.

Towards a degrowth transition: bringing interests back in

ABSTRACT Degrowth has become particularly important in the environmental movement in recent years. However, there is no consensus on how to achieve the shift from a growth-oriented society to a degrowth-oriented society. We suggest that a productive means of addressing this issue is by turning to debates concerning processes of institutional change and sustainability transitions. This approach has two key implications. On the one hand, accounts of degrowth transitions resonate with broader theories of institutional change. For instance, some, in common with historical institutionalism, emphasise the path dependencies of existing growth-oriented institutions while others, in common with discursive institutionalism, highlight the role of ideas in facilitating the creation of a degrowth-oriented society. On the other hand, there are serious limitations to these theories of institutional change. From the perspective of critical political economy, they fail to situate institutions in the broader context of capitalist power dynamics and thus do not engage with social interests. On the basis of two case studies, we argue that degrowth needs to address the question ‘who wants degrowth?’, or how its demands advance the interests of the working class, with its different intersections, in the contemporary moment.

Unlocking the tapestry of conservation: Navigating ecological resettlement policies in Nepal

Conservation initiatives involve a complex interplay of various ecological, socio-political, and economic factors. Ecological resettlement (ER), implemented within the context of nature conservation policies, stands as one of the most contested issues worldwide. This study aims to navigate the domain of ER policy in conservation through discursive institutionalism and a policy arrangement approach. Focusing on Nepal's conservation policy pathways over the last seven decades, we critically analyze policy ideas and narratives, trends, patterns of policy development, institutional arrangements, driving factors, and responses to contemporary ER policies. Methods involved a systematic literature review (n = 271), a comprehensive review of policy documents and project reports (n > 150), and expert interviews (n = 20). Over the past 50 years, >7600 households in Nepal have been displaced in the name of ER and are still persisting despite the rhetoric of participatory conservation. With changes in political regimes, conservation policy has shifted from a hunting-focused approach to landscape-level and transboundary conservation. Initially influenced by internal factors such as economic and political governance, conservation policies were later shaped by international conservation discourse. Also, the operational sphere of such policy ideas and narratives ˗ including actors, resources, discourses, and rules ˗ along with trends, priorities, institutional arrangements, and driving factors of ER policies, has changed over time. Further, the exclusion of deprived communities and the capture of conservation benefits by elites have undermined conservation values. This research stresses the importance of a judicious balance between people's welfare and nature's integrity, emphasizing community-based natural resource management models accredited to a conservation standard. We further urge the revision of displacement-oriented conservation policies to secure the rights of Indigenous people and traditional landholders, thereby ensuring conservation and sustainable development at both national and global levels.

A tale of two memberships: analysing post-2004 official governmental discourse on the EU in Czechia and Slovakia

ABSTRACT Despite their similar contexts, the Czech and Slovak memberships in the EU have developed in fundamentally different ways. Whilst Czechia has cast itself as a somewhat half-hearted, reluctant EU member state, Slovakia’s approach to the union has been more positive, with enthusiasm for deepening integration with the EU. Our analysis reveals that, despite some similarities, these differences also pertain to the patterns of discursive legitimisation of the EU within the official Czech and Slovak governmental discourses, underscoring the complexity and multifaceted nature of these processes in post-communist contexts. Working with a comprehensive dataset of official Czech and Slovak government documents, we investigate how, and interpret the ways in which, the EU has been discursively legitimised in the two countries between 2004 and 2023. To that end, we draw on insights from discursive institutionalism theory and adopt the general orientation of discourse historical analysis. We show that while the procedural legitimisation of the EU is a key element in the discursive practices of both the Czech and Slovak governments, the ideational dimension of legitimisation manifests especially within the Slovak discourse.

Standardisation and diversification – policy tools to govern early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT Policy tools have become widespread in education, which indicates efforts to standardise content and professional practices. However, such standardisation might be in contrast to Nordic early childhood education and care (ECEC) traditions of diversity and local variation. We therefore study the distributors and enactment of policy tools in ECEC in light of content regulations and calls for evidence-based practices in ECEC through comparative case studies of 14 Norwegian centres. We identify the tools that are used in ECEC centres and analyse how they are enacted by staff. The material consists of documents from ECEC centres and semi-structured interviews with heads and staff. By employing a theoretical framework based on discursive institutionalism, we find that efforts are being made to standardise didactical practices. The tools are distributed by a range of actors, but our analysis reveals that staff shape and develop tools through coordinative discourses.

Teacher assistants’ values in a discursive space: emerging change and re-negotiation of teacher professionalism in Sweden

ABSTRACT In the Nordic context, transnational discourses influence recontextualisation of ideas and discourses, and thus, how local actors negotiate around values imbued with ideas and discourses. In Sweden, the idea of teacher assistants has been prompted – through policy discourses on teacher professionalism – under imperatives of reducing teachers’ workload and increasing professional responsibility and accountability. The aim of this article is to explore teacher assistants’ values regarding roles and responsibilities in relation to teachers and education in light of policy discourses on teacher professionalism. Drawing on discursive institutionalism and curriculum theory, the concept of ‘discursive space’ is utilized to explore values in an institutional context. Based on twelve interviews with teacher assistants in compulsory schools, the analysis shows how a reductionist notion of teaching gives rise to dilemmas around being teachers’ ‘alter ego’ when values around teaching as ‘core’ are prioritized. Dilemmas around local pluralization emerge when teacher assistants are viewed as a ‘solution’ to a plethora of issues. Challenges emerge in the context of ambiguity around teacher assistants’ orientation towards teaching or processes ‘surrounding’ teaching. The analysis illustrates conditioned values highlighting dilemmas and challenges, but also possibilities for discursive action. Altogether, a re-negotiation of teacher professionalism emerges in the discursive space.

Platform paradoxes and public service media legitimacy: a cross-national study

ABSTRACT The intricate relationship between public service media (PSM) and social media platforms has emerged as a critical factor significantly impacting the legitimacy of the PSM institution. This study adopts a discursive institutionalism lens to examine how six PSM organizations across Europe, Australia and Canada communicate their relationship and ideas about social media platforms via their annual reports over a 10-year period (2013–2022). Annual reports provide valuable insight into PSM organizations’ discursive processes that are aimed at generating (and justifying) public and political support. The analysis uncovers a complex and at times contradictory set of discourses revolving around audience attention and interaction, editorial integrity, and digital safety. While building platform presence is portrayed as crucial for sustained reach and relevance, PSM organizations also position themselves as counterweights to negative platform influences within the national media ecology. We observe a shift towards increasingly risk-oriented platform narratives over time, particularly concerning Facebook, resulting in a more deliberate social media strategy among some PSM organizations, and even disengagement with the platform.

Independence in Europe: Regionalist Party Rhetoric and the EU in a Post-Brexit United Kingdom

Abstract In the wake of Brexit, how has the framing of the EU and independence evolved among regionalist parties in the devolved regions of the UK? The effects of a multilevel structure such as the EU on regionalist parties has been examined, yet European disintegration is novel and thus yet to be fully explored. Has the framing of the EU by these parties shifted, and if so, how? In this article, I analyze 19 regionalist party manifestos between 2011 and 2022 through the lens of rational choice and discursive institutionalism to examine the effects of Brexit on the framing of the EU. At a rhetorical level, these parties have engaged in the subsuming of the EU, rhetorically tying their independence or enhanced autonomy to Brexit. Sinn Féin, Scottish Nationalist Party, and Plaid Cymru have used the critical juncture of Brexit to incorporate the EU into their regionalist rhetoric. By examining the effects of European disintegration on regionalist political parties, we can better understand the role that current events play in the fluidity of party positions as presented in manifestos.

The OECD and the nation-state: an interdependent but ambivalent relationship

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to explore the interrelationships between a national government and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of the power and legitimization of education reforms, here based on the reciprocal dependence of the two actors. Although the current case study only analyses the shifting relationships between Sweden and the OECD, the assumption is that the case is quite representative of the ambiguities of power in the relationships between the OECD and its smaller member countries and the Nordic countries in particular. To explore the relationship between the Swedish national government and OECD, we make use of discursive institutionalism as a general framework. For a closer understanding of the standpoints of the OECD and Sweden on different matters and at different times, two explanation logics are used. The discourses we found characterizing the different kinds of relationships over time are a discourse of opposition, a discourse of mentorship and a discourse of subordination. We argue that there are both ideational and institutional reasons affecting the conditions for cooperation on educational policy. Although institutional reasons strengthen the maintenance of the cooperation, ideational reasons both challenge and develop the nature of the collaboration between the OECD and Sweden.

Difficult Memories as Institutional Narrative: U.S. Journalists’ Recollections of 9/11 Across Three Anniversaries

ABSTRACT Due to professional norms like objectivity, the emotional experiences U.S. journalists have while reporting tend to be obscured. However, occasions of memory-making, particularly around traumatic events, not only permit expression, but channel these emotions into promoting romanticized visions of journalism. The observances of 9/11 anniversaries in the U.S. serve as one critical site where sanctioned display of journalists’ emotions feed into assertions about journalism’s social value and, by extension, its legitimacy. Drawing on Zelizer’s interpretive communities with Hanitzsch and Vos’s discursive institutionalism, this study examines U.S. journalists’ retellings of difficult memories, or the emotional, painful, and/or traumatic experiences endured in the course of covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Thematic analysis of the first, tenth, and twentieth anniversaries reveals how these recollections reinforce idealized notions of journalists as uniquely compassionate, heroic individuals driven by a sense of duty. In doing so, the analysis establishes difficult memories as unruly rhetorical tools that can both bolster and undermine institutional authority. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how the persistence of nostalgized narratives, exemplified by 9/11 anniversaries, impacts journalism’s ability to navigate its past, present, and future amidst ongoing industry decline.

The influence of politics on the governance of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in a developing country: a generative institutional discourse approach

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship is often about the individual drive for innovation and the exploitation of opportunities; however, in an increasingly connected world, entrepreneurial ecosystems have gained considerable research interest. In many developed countries, entrepreneurial ecosystems emerge from organic collaborations between businesses and investors, with little political involvement. However, in a post-communist country like Kazakhstan, different stakeholders have diverse expectations, leading to tensions among them. In this study, we took a qualitative approach and drew from discursive institutionalism theory in entrepreneurship research in order to understand the influence of politics on the governance of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our findings reveal tensions between collective aspirations and individual goals, generating multiple institutional logics. The generative institutional discourse that is brought about by politics, their influence on governance, and facilitating factors is a mechanism that helps to turn such tensions into policies and collective action. To gain a better understanding of the influence of politics on the governance of entrepreneurial ecosystems, we propose a generative institutional discourse model.

A Discursive Institutionalist Analysis on the Transformation of the Welfare State in South Korea* : Focusing on the Productive Welfare of the Kim Dae-Jung Government

A Discursive Institutionalist Analysis on the Transformation of the Welfare State in South Korea* : Focusing on the Productive Welfare of the Kim Dae-Jung Government

The Ideational Power of Strategic Autonomy in EU Security and External Economic Policies

AbstractThis article undertakes a comparative analysis of European Union security and external economic policies to explore the different trajectories of strategic autonomy (SA) in these two domains. In so doing, it contributes to a better understanding of endogenous drivers of policy change in response to geopoliticising pressures. Drawing on discursive institutionalism, it analyses three dimensions of ideational power: power in, power through and power over. The evidence, based on documentary analysis and interviews, demonstrates that though SA presented a more significant challenge to pre‐established paradigms in external economic relations, the role of the Commission as an ideational entrepreneur, supported by its coercive power, facilitated the adoption of the idea of (open) SA. Conversely, French President Emmanuel Macron was unable to persuade others of the adoption of a sovereigntist conception of SA in security, with the exception of defence industrial policy, where the Commission enjoys budgetary power and competences.

Can institutions explain mass violence? Amhara ‘settler’ discourse and Ethiopia's ethnic federalism

AbstractThis paper begins by reviewing rational choice institutionalism's explanation of how political institutions incentivise patronage networks emphasising ethnic cleavage. Acknowledging the limits of rationalist institutionalism in explaining societal norm constructions and mass behaviour, the paper then adopts discursive institutionalism to analyse the social affects of institutional design. The case study of violence against Amharas deemed ‘settlers’ in Ethiopia's contemporary ethnic federation highlights how new cleavages create new norms and new historical narratives, influencing group dynamics. These dynamics result in group‐based mass violence when rents‐based orders and patronage networks collapse during times of institutional instability or change. Thus, precipitated by the discursive effects of hyper‐ethnicised institutional design, mass violence against Amhara in different ethnic regions in Ethiopia emerges as an unexpected outcome of regime change and democratic transition in the country. These incidents of targeted violence are not simply explained by institutions, but rather by the socio‐political climate effected by the interaction between institutions and discourse under ethnic federalism. In short, this study demonstrates how institutions go beyond incentivising or constraining elite behaviour, producing discursive markers that normalise violence during periods of institutional ‘lapse’, when formal provisions of social order temporarily collapse.

The Political Dimensions in Discourses of Youth Organizations Operating in Poland: Scope and Dynamics of Changes in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War

In this article, the research aim was to reconstruct the political characteristics of the discourses of four youth organizations operating in Poland in three intertwined dimensions: content, structure and time. In the content dimension, by using the analysis of the discursive strategies, the focus was on political goals and political features of collective identities. In the structure dimension, by using the analytical tool provided by discursive institutionalism, the internal dynamics of discourses were explored. In the dimensions of structure and time, an attempt was made to capture the discursive change as a reaction to the war in Ukraine. Over 700 texts posted by the organizations’ websites or Facebook pages were analysed. Three types of discourses were identified, which show various ways of representing political objectives and collective identities. Furthermore, all of the discourses reacted to the war in Ukraine. The results show the scope and dynamics of such changes.

Actors in Environmental Discourse: The Discursive Institutionalism Perspective

Objective: Examined for years in various contexts, the environmental issue does not directly focus on the involve- ment of actors in the process of discourse institutionalisation, which is achievable through the application of discursive institutionalism. The aim of the study is to characterise actors involved in the environmental discourse studied using the discursive intuitionalism approach: who participates in discourses, with whom they co-participant, and based on which sources of discourse records their presence is studied. Research Design & Methods: A systematic review examined 185 DI articles from 2004 to 2022, selecting 33 focused on environmental topics for content analysis. Findings: Seven actor groups in environmental discourse were identified, with government, experts, and NGOs being the most frequent participants. Government predominated in co-occurrence, and discourse records mainly originated from government documents, legislative materials, and reports. Implications/Recommendations: Further research is recommended to delve into actor profiles, explore the relationship between discourse source selection and actor appearance, and observe trends in DI research methods. Emphasising inclusive representation in environmental discourse is crucial for policymakers. Contribution/ Value Added: Participation in environmental discourse is dominated by actors with specialised knowledge or resources, responsible for shaping political agenda goals. This results in low representation of unaffiliated citizens, business, and media. Article classification: research article Keywords: environmental discourse, environmental policy, discursive institutionalism, actors, environmental economics JEL classification: Q5, H8

Tracing ideas about mentoring newly qualified teachers and the expectations of school leadership in policy documents

ABSTRACT The practice of mentoring newly qualified teachers (NQT) has gained international attention in research over the past few decades, but little attention has been paid to ideas about mentoring NQT as they are presented in policy documents. Such ideas are important, as they represent what lies behind certain specific policy initiatives and measures. Consequently, this study aimed to provide insight into ideas about mentoring NQT, and to clarify expectations of school leadership regarding such issues conveyed in Norwegian policy documents. Discourse analysis inspired by theories on discursive institutionalism and governance was conducted on five policy papers. The documents were selected from a national educational level in Norway, where the emphasis on mentoring NQT has increased significantly over the past few decades. Three core ideas became visible through analysis: mentoring as a matter of institutionalization, of cultivating career-long collective learning and development, and of boundary work across institutions. Our analysis demonstrates how these ideas are made thinkable and calculable to practitioners and are expected to be used as instruments for practice, as well as how they can be institutionalized into practices of mentoring and, thus, practicable in the Norwegian context. The indicated expectations of school leadership are discussed.

El peso de la historia: desafíos de la policía en la gobernanza del cibercrimen en España

Cybercrime presents a myriad of challenges for law enforcement agencies, including the complexity and global nature of criminal activities, the difficulties in tracing activities within cyberspace, and the perpetual evolution of these unlawful practices. This article employs the conceptual framework of historical and discursive institutionalism to investigate the hurdles faced by the police in governing cybercrime in Spain. The study emphasizes the importance of situating law enforcement within the cybersecurity governance system to comprehend their challenges and adaptations. By analyzing 36 key documents, it argues that cybersecurity policies’ origins and evolution were rooted in narratives focused on information protection and enhancing society’s trust in digital technologies, narratives distinct from the discourse centered on cybercrime. The Spanish case study enriches the literature on cybersecurity governance by examining how historical evolution and narratives impact the roles of actors involved in the governance system.

“Fields of Ideas” for Science Diplomacy in the context of Russian “Pivot to East”

The crisis in Russian relations with the West has become a key trigger for a real “Pivot to East” in Russian foreign policy. The new edition of the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, approved by the Decree of the President of Russia dated March 31, 2023, proclaims and describes this turn in sufficient detail, expanding the space for scientific diplomacy within the framework of international humanitarian cooperation. This space is filled with “fields of ideas” that are formed within the framework of the relationship of the expert community with decision makers within the country and with foreign colleagues and partners. These “fields of ideas” are currently rather poorly organized “exhibitions of ideas” than “markets of ideas”, where their active production and exchange takes place. The study of the reasons for this using the tools of institutional constructivism, discursive institutionalism and “institutional logic” allowed us to identify the problems of their functioning and possible prospects for development. The latter require the active development of Russian and international “fields of ideas” within the framework of scientific diplomacy in a competitive format, while being ready to compete with both Western and “non-Western” actors. On the way of such transformation, there may be several institutional traps and dead ends, on the successful overcoming of which the success of such a transformation will depend.