Introduction to the symposium on ‘crisis and persistence: dynamics of institutional changes at the interface between formal and informal institutions’

Crises constitute a fascinating context in which to investigate the resilience of institutional arrangements, or their breakdown and change, and to shed light on the interplay between formal and informal institutions in this process. The papers in this symposium focus on crises from political power grab to economic shock and natural disasters. They focus on the differing impact of different crises or investigate the specific impact of one form of crises on formal and informal institutions or the negotiation process that allow them to coexist. Bringing them under one roof emphasises the diversity of lenses through which institutions can be conceptualised and operationalised. It also highlights some of the issues preventing meaningful comparisons across frameworks. Importantly, it also allows us to trace an agenda for research towards improving our understanding of when and how crises lead to change. We argue that an often under-studied aspect that could help to move towards a clearer taxonomy is to articulate more explicitly the agency of actors and the distribution of power within society and social groups.