Historical institutionalism

Historical institutionalism is a theoretical and methodological approach adopted by numerous communication scholars, particularly in the areas of communication history, policy and law. In recent years, some researchers have argued that institutionalism ‘cannot be critical’ (Willmott, 2015). In this chapter, we revisit the argument that historical institutionalism is a useful approach for communication scholars (Bannerman & Haggart, 2015), reflecting on whether historical institutionalism, as used to examine communication policy, is ‘critical’. We find that historical institutionalism in communications policy is often critical in that it attends to power and understands knowledge as constructed. Less frequently do communication scholars recognize their own positionality and the situatedness of their own knowledge and research? Some communication policy scholars do critical praxis-oriented research, examining the possibilities for change and alternatives to the present reality.