ABSTRACT
Recent works in institutional theory have highlighted the importance of a more dynamic approach to institutions. This has led to important advances in our understanding of institutions, of institutional change and of institutional stability. Institutions are designed or changed in order to achieve a variety of goals, including innovation, creativity and cooperation, as well as the protection of weak groups and interests. However, as the terms and concepts of institutional theory are often diffuse or even contradictory, this chapter tries to clarify some of the core concepts and to make them useful for the study of processes of “protecting the weak” in East Asia. In this chapter, we elaborate on the main concepts and the different approaches in order to explain the underlying causes, mechanisms and outcomes of institutional change. In a second step, we take inspiration from these theories to conceptualise the dynamic processes of “protecting the weak” which we observe in East Asia. The chapter is general in nature: its very topic – how do institutions change and under which conditions – can be applied to a variety of topics, including the protection of the weak.
