Stasis and change

The normal state of a policy domain is stasis: issues are solved and settled within, and reproducing, the domain’s structural features. Transformative change is the exception, but in the early 21st century a topical one: think of transforming welfare states, identity politics and the transition to sustainability. This chapter reviews theories that seek to explain stasis and change in the same terms. Using examples as illustrations, it discusses various branches of theory. Regarding punctuated equilibrium theory, there appears ample evidence for the main causal claims of the theory, but the role of agency and reflexivity remains obscure. Early neo-institutionalist theorizing is demonstrated to pay more attention to agency and ideas, yet more to explain stasis than change. On the latter account, interpretive and discursive neo-institutionalist theories do much better. Yet future theorizing may benefit from fields like transition studies and urban studies, where the intertwining of policy and societal practices is emphasized.