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Continuum Academic: Continuum International, 2006. Interest in institutional theory and institutional analysis has grown rapidly in recent years and they are increasingly being recognised as vital tools for discussing and understanding the world of politics and government. There are however a variety of different approaches to the 'new institutionalism' and these rarely address the same issues. This book aims to clarify some of the major issues by identifying the various approaches to institutions and providing a common frame of reference.In this expanded and updated second edition, Guy Peters argues that there are at least seven versions of institutionalism in the discipline, beginning with March and Olsen's 'normative institutionalism' and including rational choice, historical and empirical approaches to institutions and their impact on public policy. For each version a set of identical questions are posed, including the definition of institutions, the way in they are formed, how they function, how they change, how individuals and institutions interact, and the definition of a 'good institution. In conclusion, Peters discusses whether there are really so many different approaches to institutionalism or if there is sufficient agreement among the approaches to argue that there really is one institutional theory.<p>. Paperback. New.