Time as an Institutional Constraint in a Political System: On Theoretical and Methodological Principles of the Approach

Abstract

In the analysis of the political process time can be represented as an institution — a set of temporal rules that are meant to be a resource and a constraint at the same time. These temporal rules are a constitutive element for any political system. They become a key point in the institutionalization of political order owing to their infl uence on the process of political decision-making and the choice of political instruments. The theoretical and methodological foundations of this approach, however, remain understudied. Turning to the theoretical basis of historical institutionalism and historical sociology, the author highlights the main methods of analyzing time as an institution in political science. The fi rst is the method of analytical decomposition of an event series: the emergence and development of temporal rules are presented in a sequence of decision-making series. Possible alternatives, the cumulative eff ects of time and the multiplicity of temporal variants of institutional functions are the focus of analysis here. The second method is that of structural-conditional analysis. For various types of political regimes, as well as in conditions of social, technological and bureaucratic acceleration and the forms of political participation generated by it, time can be understood as one of the limiting factors necessary for the articulation, discussion, adoption, implementation and consolidation of a decision.

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