Discourse and Institutions

In this paper, we argue that the processes underlying institutionalization have not been adequately investigated and that discourse analysis provides a coherent framework for such investigation.Accordingly, we develop a discursive model of institutionalization that highlights the relationship between texts, discourse, institutions and action.Our model begins with the relationship between action and discourse, and argues that action primarily affects discourse through the production of texts that are drawn on by other actors and subsequently become embedded in broader discourses.We go on to argue that discourse affects action through the production of institutions, which are associated with self-regulating…