Paul Colomy

Neofunctionalism and Neoinstitutionalism: Human Agency and Interest in Institutional Change

Neofunctionalism and neoinstitutionalism suffer from a macro bias that impairs recognition of human agency and interest in institutional change. A preliminary micro corrective organized around the concepts of institutional entrepreneurs and institutional projects is proposed. These concepts are elaborated to address three related problems: the content of institutional change; power, coalitions, and conflict in institutional change; and entrepreneurs use of accounts to legitimate their projects.

Metatheorizing in a Postpositivist Frame

This paper situates metatheorizing in a postpositivist approach to social science. Postpositivism contends that social science is organized around competing traditions, which are comprised of generalized discourse and research programs. Following an examination of the relations between discourse and programs, the dynamics fueling social scientific competition are outlined. Because that competition is subject to recurrent distortions and therefore cannot insure that the best arguments win, it is proposed that metatheorizing assume an adjudicative posture and evaluate the conflicting claims of rival schools. This suggestion is elaborated in the context of Ritzers pioneering work on metatheorizing.

Toward a micro corrective of structural differentiation theory

This article argues that the synthetic turn in recent discussions of the micro-macro problem provide a basis for critically assessing structural differentiation theory. That theory suffers from a macro bias, which is reflected in its inability to account for variable patterns of structural change, its neglect of how coalition formation and group negotiation and conflict affect the course of differentiation, and its constricted conception of the consequences of differentiation. A micro corrective, organized around an elaboration of the notion of institutional entrepreneurs, concepts taken from social movement theory, and empirical findings from comparative and historical case studies of structural change, is proposed. That corrective discusses the impact of an institutional project, entrepreneurial organization building, and strategies for enlisting support and defusing resistance on the establishment of new levels of differentiation.

LOSING SAMSON: Nature, Crime, and Boundaries

This article examines a communitys reaction to the poaching of a large elk. Extending the Durkheimian approach to nature, crime, law, and social control, this study discusses the anguish and anger provoked by the infraction, tributes to the fallen animal, calls for more severe and certain sanctions for poaching, and the boundaries affirmed in the incidents aftermath. The implications of this communal response to a wildlife offense for criminalization and conceptions of community are considered.

Projects and Institution Building: Judge Ben B. Lindsey and the Juvenile Court Movement

Extending the microfoundations of the neoinstitutionalist approach to change, this paper examines the role of institutional entrepreneurs in creating the juvenile court at the turn of the century. Previous work suggests that the court established by Chicago activists became the prototype for other cities and states. We argue that the juvenile courts founding period exhibited considerable diversity, and we highlight Judge Ben B. Lindseys institution building efforts in Denver, Colorado. Lindseys project is contrasted to the Chicago court; particular attention is given to Lindseys constitution of the delinquent subject, his call for a highly differentiated juvenile court, and his expansive conception of the courts responsibilities. This initial diversity subsequently gave way to a more uniform court, and we briefly discuss the dynamics fueling this convergence.

Goffman and Interactional Citizenship

Goffmans analysis of the interaction order and his investigation of deference and demeanor are used to extend and revise the macrosociological theory of citizenship. Goffmans theorizing intimates that individuals claim and are typically accorded a complex of interactional rights and are simultaneously obliged to honor a complementary set of obligations. Taken together, these rights and obligations comprise what we call interactional citizenship. In principle alterations in the interaction order over time can be described and explained, and in this vein we propose that there has been a general, albeit incomplete and unevenly realized, expansion of interactional citizenship to virtually every category of social actor. There are limits to this expansion, however, and little reason to believe that interactional citizenship can ever be fully realized.

Donald R. Cressey: A Personal and Intellectual Remembrance

This article provides a personal and intellectual remembrance of Donald R. Cressey. First, I describe the type of man Cressey was, employing the antinomies of work/play and toughness/kindness to structure the discussion. The subsequent analysis of Cresseys ideas examines his distinctive intellectual style, his enduring commitment to theoretically informed criminological research, his efforts to elaborate the principle of normative conflict and differential association, and his adherence to an ideology of liberal humanitarianism.