rethinking agency and structure

7/29/2019 Rethinking Agency and Structure

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Rethinking Agency and Structure in theStudy of Regime ChangeJames Mahoney nd Richard Snyder

The oscillation of the study of political regime change between voluntarist andstructural approaches h as in creasingly led scholars to s eek research strategies forsynthesizing the two approaches. This article addresses the conceptual and practi-cal difficulties of achieving such a synthesis by evaluating several strategies forintegrating voluntarist and structural factors in the analysis of regime change. Itexam ines competing way s of conceptualizing agency and structure and assessesthe varied conseq uences that differen t conceptualizations have fo r explaining re-gime transformation. The article also analyzes three distinct strategies for integrat-ing agency and structure: the funnel, path-dependent, and eclectic strategies. Eachintegrative strategy is an cho red by a differen t conceptual base and has characteris-tic strengths and limitations. The conclusion explores future directions for devel-oping integrative strategies.ecent ana lyses desc r ibe the evolution o f the s tudy of pol i t ica l r egime cha ngen te rms of a pa radigm shi f t be tween two approaches wi th d ist inct mod es of

explanation (see Levine 1988, B erm eo 1990, Karl 1990, R em m er 1991, Kitschelt1993, and Mu nc k 1994) . Acc ordin g to these analyses, an ini tia l phase of the studyof regime cha nge was domina ted by s t ruc tura l approaches , w hich re l ied on fac torssuch as c lass, sector, and world -syste mic polit ical econ om y features to accou nt forpoli t ical regimes) In a subsequent phase, s tructural approaches were supplantedby voluntar ist approaches , wh ich emph asized the choices and s t ra tegies o f the keyactors involv ed in processes of r egim e transi tion. 2

Th ese analyses are un ited by their prescript ion that the next stage in the study ofregime cha nge should synthes ize the two divergent approaches . T he s t ruc tura l ap-proaches which charac te r ized the " f i r s t genera t ion" of work on regime t ransfor -The a uthors are hsted in alphabet ical order and share equal responsibihty for the content of th is analysis . Weappreciate helpful comm ents and sugg est ions f rom Chris topher Ansel l . Ruth Berms Col l ier , Michael Brat ton,Dav i d Co l her , Lar ry D~amond , Gmse ppe d l Pa l ma, Pe t e r Evans . John Foran , Je f f Goodwm. T omasz Grabowsk i ,Erns t Haas , S t ephan H aggard , Jona t han Har t l yn . Ter ry Kar l , S t even Lev i t sky , Juan Lm z, G erardo Munc k ,Pierre Ost lguy, Diet r ich Rueschemeyer , Er ic Selbin , Michael Smatra, Jut ta Weldes. Alexander Wendt , andBrendan Works .James Mahoney i s Ass i s tan t P ro fessor o f Somol ogy a t B rown Umvers i ty . He i s cu rr en t ly f i m shmg a book t ha tanalyze s l iberal i sm and regime c hange in f ive Central America n count r ies dur ing the 19th and 20th centur ies .Richard Snyd er i s Assis ta nt Professor of Poht ical Science at the Umversl ty of llhnols at Urb ana-C ham palgn.He has publ i shed numerous ar t icles on both regime change and the poht ics of economic reform. He i s cur-rent ly complet ing a for thcoming book ent i t led Polmcs after Neoliberalism


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4 Studies in Comp arative International Developm ent / Summer 1999

mat i o n an d t h e v o l u n t a r i s t ap p r o ach es w h i ch ch a r ac t e r i zed t h e s eco n d mu s t n o wb e i n t e g r a t e d ? T h e g o a l o f th e t h ir d g e n e r a t io n o f s t u di e s s h o u l d b e t o a n a l y z er eg i me ch an g e i n a w ay t h a t l i n k s s t r u c t u r e s t o t h e s h ap i n g o f co n t i n g en t ac t o rch o i ce . K a rl an d S ch m i t te r ( 1 9 9 1 ,2 7 0 - 7 1 ) u s e t h e ru b r ic " f r o m co n t i n g en t ch o i cet o s t r u c t u r ed co n t i n g en cy " t o d e s c r i b e t o t h i s i n t eg r a t i v e ag en d a w h i ch r eq u i r e ss t r i k i n g a b a l an ce b e t w een t h e s t r u c t u r a l an d ag en t i a l f a c t o r s t h a t s h ap e r eg i met r an s f o r ma t i o n s .Th i s a r t ic l e s eek s t o ad v an ce t h i s i n teg r a t iv e ag en d a b y ad d r e s s i n g t w o i mp o r -t an t bar ri e r s t o it s imple m en ta t i on . F i r st , advo ca t es o f i n t eg ra t i ve app roach es haves a i d li tt le ab o u t w h a t em p i r ica l an a l y s e s o f r eg i me ch an g e t h a t em p l o y t h e s e ap -p r o ach es s h o u l d l o o k l i ke . N o r h av e t h ey o f f e r ed g u i d e l in e s f o r co n s t r u c t i n g th eo -r i es t ha t i n t eg ra t e s t ruc tu ra l and vo lun tar i s t approaches .

S eco n d , t h e i r in j u n c t i o n to c o m b i n e s t ru c t u ra l an d ag en t i a l f a c to r s f o r ce s a co n -f r o n t a t i o n w i t h o n e o f t h e mo s t l o n g s t an d i n g an d i n t r ac t ab l e p r o b l ems o f s o c i a ls c ien ce : h o w t o r e s o l v e th e p a r ad o x t h a t " h u m an ag en cy i s th e o n l y m o v i n g f o r ceb eh i n d t h e ac t i o n s , ev en t s , an d o u t co m es o f t h e s o c i a l w o r l d .... [Y e t] h u m an ag en cycan b e r ea l i z ed o n l y i n co n c r e t e h is t o ri ca l c i r cu ms t an ces t h a t co n d i t i o n th e p o s s i -b i l it i es fo r ac t i on and in f lue nce i ts cour se" (Dess l e r 1989 , 443) . Th i s per s i s t en ts t u m b l i n g b l o ck , f r eq u en t l y ca ll ed t h e " ag en t - s tr u c t u r e p r o b l em," p o s es s e r io u sd i ff icu l ti e s f o r d e v e l o p i n g i n t eg ra t iv e ap p r o ach e s t o t h e s t u d y o f r eg i me ch an g e .4Th es e d i f fi cu lt ie s h av e n o t b een s a t is f ac to r il y ad d r e s s ed . U n t i l t h e s e i m p ed i me n t sa r e ack n o w l ed g ed an d e f fo r ts a re m ad e t o o v e r co m e t h em, w e w i ll co n t i n u e t o l a cka f i r m b as e f o r co n s t r u c t i n g i n teg r a ti v e th eo r i e s o f r eg i m e ch an g e t h a t r eco g n i zet h e cau s a l e f f ec ts o f b o t h s o c i a l s t r u c tu r e an d h u m an ag en cy .W e a r g u e t h a t l ay i n g t h e g r o u n d w o r k f o r th e n ex t g en e r a t i o n o f s t u d i e s o f re -g i m e ch an g e r eq u i re s t w o s t ep s t h a t mo v e u s t o w ar d i n t eg ra t i o n o f s t r u c tu r a l an dv o l u n t a r is t ap p r o ach es . F ir s t, p r o b l em s o f t h eo r y co n s t r u c t io n i n v o l v ed i n d ev e l -o p i n g i n t eg r a t i v e ap p r o ach es s h o u l d b e ad d r e s s ed . W e d o s o b y d i s ag g r eg a t i n gs t ru c t u ra l an d v o l u n t a r i s t ap p r o ach es b o t h i n t e r m s o f t h e ir d i v e r g en t u n d e r l y i n gco n ce p t i o n s o f h u m an ag en cy an d s o c ia l s tr u c t u r e an d i n t e r ms o f t h e ir me t h o d -o l o g i ca l an d t h eo r e t i ca l co mp o n en t s . Th i s d i s ag g r eg a t i o n h e l p s i d en t if y t h e t r o u b l ep o i n t s t h a t p o s e t h e s t r o n g es t im p ed i m en t s to d ev e l o p i n g in t eg r a ti v e ap p r o ach es .I t a l so es t ab l i shes a c l ear base l i ne fo r c l ass i fy ing a par t i cu l a r approach as s t ruc-tural , voluntar i s t , or in tegrat ive.

Th e s eco n d s t ep t o w ar d p r o m o t i n g emp i r i ca l w o r k t h a t i n teg r a t e s s tr u c t u ra l an dv o l u n t a r is t ap p r o ach es i s t o i d en t i fy s t r at eg ie s f o r o v e r co m i n g t h e d i f f i cu l t i e s r e -v e a l e d b y t h e f i r s t , d i s a g g r e g a t i v e s t e p . T o t h i s e n d , w e p r o v i d e a m e n u o fs t r a t e g i e s f o r i n t e g r a t i n g a g e n c y a n d s t r u c t u r e i n t h e s t u d y o f r e g i m e c h a n g e .W e probe the s t rengths and l im i tat ions of the s t rategies and analyze exem plary applica-t ions of each. Th e conc lusion considers d i rect ions for fu ture research s trategies .Structuralist Thesis , Voluntarist Antithesis: Com ponents o fVoluntarist and Structural App roaches

Desp i t e t he r ecen t p ro l i f e ra t i on o f ca l l s fo r syn thes i s o f vo lun t ar i s t and s t ruc-t u ra l ap p r o ach es , ad v o ca t e s o f i n t eg ra t i v e ap p r o ach es to t h e s t u d y o f r eg i me ch a n g eh av e n o t ad d r e s s ed i mp o r t an t d i f f e r en ces i n h o w v o l u n t a r i s t an d s t r u c t u r a l ap -


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Mahoneya n d S n ~ / d e r 5

proa che s concep tua l i ze age ncy an d s t ruc tu re as causa l var iab l es . In t h i s sec ti on ,w e i n t r o d u ce c r i te r i a f o r d i f f e ren t i a ti n g th e s e ap p r o ach es i n t e r ms o f t h e ir co n ce p -tua l "bases" and the i r methodo log ica l and theore t i ca l " super s t ruc tu res . "The Metatheoretical Base: C onceptualizing Agency an d Structure

I n t h e i r co n cep t i o n s o f ag en cy , v o l u n t a r is t an d s t r u c tu r a l ap p r o ach e s a r e d i st in -g u i s h e d b y t h e e x te n t to w h i c h h u m a n a c t io n i s u n d e r s t o o d as a c o n s e q u e n c e o fs o c i a l re l a ti o n s . V o l u nt a ri st ap p r o ach es h av e an " u n d e r s o c i a l i z ed " co n c ep t i o n o fag en cy ; s t r u c tu r a l ap p r o ach es , b y co n t ra s t , h av e an " o v e r s o c i a l iz ed " co n ce p t i o n .5I n t e r ms o f s t r u c tu r e , b o t h ap p r o ach es r ec o g n i ze a p o t en t ia l c au s a l r o l e f o r s o c i a ls t r u c t u r e s . H o w ev e r , v o l u n t a r i s t ap p r o ach es co n cep t u a l i ze s t r u c t u r e s a s ex t e r n a lco n s t r a i n t s , w h i ch ac t o r s may o r may n o t en co u n t e r a s t h ey p u r s u e t h e i r g o a l s .S t r u c tu r a l ap p r o ach es , o n t h e o t h e r h an d , c o n ce i v e s t r u c tu r e s a s o m n i p r e s en t , " g en -era t i ve" r e l a t i ons t ha t def ine t he i den t i ti es an d in t e res t s o f ac to r s. 6Undersoc ia li zed and Oversoc ia l ized Concep t ions o f Hum an Agency . Volun ta-r i st ap p r o ach es co n c e i v e h u m an b eh a v i o r a s u n d e r d e t e r m i n ed b y s o c ia l s tr u c tu r e s .In t h i s v i ew, ac to r s ' i den t i t i es and in t e res t s du r ing r eg ime t r ans fo rmat ions canno tb e ex p l a i n ed b y s o c i a l o r e co n o m i c r o le s . H u m an ac t io n i s u n d e r s t o o d as a f o r cee x t e r n a l t o a n d d i s e n g a g e d f r o m " o b j e c t i v e " s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s . A c c o r d i n g t oO ' D o n n e l l an d S ch m i t te r ( 19 8 6 , 4 ), t o ex p l a i n t ran s i ti o n s t o d em o cr ac y o n e can -no t " r e ly o n r e l a t i ve ly s tab l e econ om ic , soc i a l, cu l t u ra l, and p ar t i san ca t egor i es t oiden t i fy , ana lyze , an d eva lua t e i den t i t i es and s t r a t eg ies o f t hose de fend ing the s ta -t u s q u o an d t h o s e s t r u g g l i n g to r e f o r m o r t r an s f o r m i t. .. .[ I] t is a l mo s t i m p o s s i b l e t ospec i fy ex ante w hich c l asses , sec to r s , in s t i t u ti ons , and o ther g roup s wi l l take w hatro l e , op t fo r what i s sues o r suppor t what a l t e rna t ive ."S t ruc tu ra l approa ches , by con t ras t , t r ea t t he i den t i t i es and in t e res t s o f ac to r s asd e f i n ed b y p o s i t io n s w i t h i n s o c i a l s t ru c t u r e s an d v i ew c h o i ce s an d ac t i o n s a s re -s u lt s o f t h e s e p o s i ti o n s . I n t h e s t u d y o f r eg i me ch an g e , c l a s s an d cu l t u re h av e b ee nused in con junc t ion wi th t h i s over soc i a l i zed concep t ion o f agency . In O 'Donnel l ' s(1973) structural a cco unt of the origins of bureaucrat ic-authoritarianism, for exam ple,actors ' in teres ts are def ined m ainly in term s of class posi t ion , and class-based grou psare unde r s tood to a l l y o r op pose on e an o ther depend ing on mater ia l i ncen tives.Th e u n d e r s o c i a l i z ed co n cep t i o n o f ag en cy ch a r ac t e r i z in g v o l u n t a r i s t ap p r o ach esh i g h l ig h t s h o w o n g o i n g i n te r a c ti o n s b e t w e e n p u r p o s e f u l a c to r s s h a p e r e g i m ech an g e . Y e t t h i s co n cep t i o n d eemp h as i ze s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e s e i n t e r ac t i o n smay be a f f ec t ed by p re-ex i s t i ng soc i a l r e l a t i ons which shape ac to r s ' i n t e res t s andcap ab il it ie s . C o n s eq u en t l y , v o l u n t a r is t ap p r o ach es o v e r em p h as i ze i m me d i a t e , s h o r t-t e r m p r o ces s e s , ch o ice s , an d p o l i t ic a l c r a f ti n g , w h i l e i g n o r i n g t h e ex t en t t o w h i ch" the poss ib l e" i s cond i t i on ed by soc i a l s t ruc tu res .Th e o v e r s o c i a l iz ed co n ce p t i o n o f ag en cy u n d e r l y i n g s tr u c t u ra l ap p r o ach es s u f -f e r s f r o m t h e c o n v e r s e p r o b l e m . A l t h o u g h s t r u c t u r a l a p p r o a c h e s r e g a r d h u m a nb eh av i o r a s s o c i a ll y g r o u n d ed , th ey ex c l u d e h o w ac t o rs s u s t a i n an d , d u r i n g t r ans i -t io n s , t r an s f o r m p o l i t ic a l r eg i me s t ru c t u re s . Th i s co n c ep t i o n o f ag e n cy c r ea te s as t r o n g b ia s f o r em p h as i z i n g lo n g - t e r m , i m p e r s o n a l p r o ces s e s an d f o r o v e r l o o k i n gt h e p o s s ib i l it y t h a t a c to r s m ay h av e mar g i n s o f man eu v e r ab i l i t y d u r i n g p e r i o d s o fr e g i m e c h a n g e .


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Con s t ra in t and Gene ra t i ve Mo del s o f Soc ia l S truc ture . At f i r s t g l ance , i t m ays e e m t h a t v o l u n t a ri s t a p p r o a c h e s d e n y t h e e x i s t e n c e o f s t ru c t u ra l f a c t o r s a l t o g e th e r .H o w e v e r , a s O ' D o n n e l l a n d S c h m i t t e r ( 1 9 86 , 5 ) re m a r k , t o e m p h a s i z e t h e r o le o fagency " i s no t t o deny t ha t t he m ac r os t r uc t u r a l f a c t o r s a r e s t i l l ' t he r e . ' " Ra t he r ,v o l u n t a r i s t s t u d i e s a s s u m e t h a t d u r i n g r e g i m e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s " t h o s e [ s t r u c t u r a l ]m e d i a t i o n s a r e l o o s e r , t h e i r i m p a c t s m o r e i n d e t e r m i n a t e , t h a n i n n o r m a l c i r c u m -s t a n c e s " ( O ' D o n n e l l a n d S c h m i t te r 1 9 8 6 , 5 ). 7 F r o m t h is p e r s p e c t iv e , r e g i m e t r a n -s i t i ons a r e s pec i a l t i m es when t he caus a l i m pac t o f s t r uc t u r a l f a c t o r s i s t em por a r i l yr e l a x e d .

T h i s i d e a t h a t th e c a u s a l i m p a c t o f s tr u c t u r e s v a r i es a c r o s s h i s to r i c a l j u n c t u r e sd e p e n d s o n a c o n c e p t i o n o f s tr u c t u r e s a s c o n t i n g e n t cons t ra in t s t ha t po t en t i a l l y( r a t he r than nece s s a r i l y ) l i m i t t he ab i l i t y o f a c t o r s t o ach i eve t he i r goa l s . Th i s c on -s t ra i n t m o d e l o f s tr u c t u r e a s s u m e s t h a t a c t o r s " p r e - e x i s t " s t r u c t u r e s i n t h a t th e yhave i n t e r e s t s and i den t i t i e s p r i o r t o encoun t e r i ng s t r uc t u r a l cons t r a i n t s . S t r uc t u r a lf a c t o r s a r e t r e a t e d a s b a r r i e r s e x t e r n a l t o a c t o r s w h i c h m a y o r m a y n o t s t a n d b e -t w e e n t h e m a n d t h e a c h i e v e m e n t o f t he i r a u t o n o m o u s g o a l s a n d i n te r e st s .

S t r u c tu r a l a p p r o a c h e s , b y c o n t r a s t, c o n c e i v e s t r u c t u re s a s genera t i ve f o r c e s t h a tde f i ne ac t o r s ' i n t e r e s t s and d i r ec t l y de t e r m i ne t he i r behav i o r . S t r uc t u r e s a r e unde r -s t o o d n o t a s c o n t i n g e n t r e l a t i o n s t h a t p r e - e x i s t i n g a c t o r s m a y o r m a y n o t e n c o u n -te r, bu t as n eces s a r y r e l a ti o n s i n t e r n a l iz e d b y a c t o r s a n d f r o m w h i c h t h e ir i n t er e s ts ,i d e n ti ti e s, a n d g o a l s d e r iv e . T h e s e g e n e r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s a r e a s s u m e d t o e x i s t p r i o rt o ac t o r s s i nce t hey cons t i t u t e t he ve r y p r ope r t i e s ( e . g . , i n t e r e s t s and i den t i t i e s )t ha t de f i ne ac t o r s and m ot i va t e t he i r behav i o r .Volun tar i s t and S t ruc tura l i s t Concep tua l Bases . T h e r e i s a n e c e s s a r y a f f i n i t yb e t w e e n t h e g e n e r a ti v e m o d e l o f st ru c t u re a n d t h e o v e r s o c i a li z e d c o n c e p t i o n o fa g e n c y , j u s t a s t h e r e i s b e t w e e n t h e c o n s t r a i n t m o d e l o f s tr u c t u r e a n d t h eu n d e r s o c i a l i z e d c o n c e p t i o n o f a g e n c y . I f s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s a r e v i e w e d a s g e n e r a t -i n g t h e e s s e n t ia l p r o p e r t i e s o f a g e n ts , t h e n a g e n c y i s n e c e s s a r i l y c o n c e i v e d i n a no v e r s o c i a l i z e d m a n n e r. L i k e w i s e , i f s t r u c tu r e s a r e v i e w e d a s c o n t i n g e n t c o n s t r a in t se x t e r n a l t o a c t o r s , t h e n a g e n c y i s n e c e s s a r i l y u n d e r s t o o d i n a n u n d e r s o c i a l i z e dm a n n e r . T h e s e a f f in i ti e s a l lo w u s t o i d e n t if y t w o d i s t i n c t " c o n c e p t u a l b a s e s " f o r m e db y m o d e l s o f h o w a g e n c y a n d s t r u c t u r e in t e rr e l at e ( s e e F i g u r e 1 ). T h e c o m b i n a t i o no f t h e o v e r s o c i a li z e d c o n c e p t i o n o f a g e n c y w i t h t h e g e n e r a t iv e m o d e l o f s tr u c tu r eF I G U R E 1Conceptions o f Agency and Structure in V oluntarist and Structural A pproaches

V o l u n t a r i s t S t r u c t u r a l i s tC o n c e p t u a l C o n c e p t u a l

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f o r m s a "s t ru c t u r a li s t co n c ep t u a l b a s e" Th e co m b i n a t i o n o f t h e u n d e r s o c i a l i z edco n c ep t i o n o f ag en cy w i t h t h e co n s t r a i n t m o d e l o f s tr u c t u r e f o r ms a " v o l u n t a r i s tcon cep tua l base . '8Methodological an d Theoret ical Superstructure: Building B locks o f Voluntarist,Structural , a nd Integrative Approaches

Th e d i f fe r en ces b e t w ee n v o l u n t a r i s t an d s t ru c t u ra l ap p r o ach es can b e c l a ri f iedb y d i s t i n g u i s h i n g t h e s e ap p r o ach es acco r d i n g t o f o u r c r it e ri a : p r i mar y ex p l an a t o r y

F I G U R E 2Bui ld ing B locks o f Vo luntari s t, S t ruc tura l , and In tegra tive Approaches

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Macro A nalysis


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v a r iab l e, t em p o r a l f o cu s , u s e o f co m p ar i s o n , an d l eve l o f an a l y s i s . V o lu n t a ri s t an ds t ru c t u ra l ap p r o ach es a r e d e f i n ed b y t h e p o l a r en d s o f t h e s e f o u r d i men s i o n s ( s eeF i g u r e 2 ). A n i n t eg r a t iv e ap p r o ach n eed s t o co m b i n e t h e s e p o l a r a l t e rn a t iv e s w i thr e f e r en ce t o a ll f o u r co mp o n en t s .Primary Explanatory Variable. The s u b j ec ti v e ev a l u a ti o n s o f t h e k ey ac t o r s w h o" mak e" t r an s i t i o n s s e r v e a s t h e p r i mar y ex p l an a t o r y v a r i ab l e i n v o l u n t a r i s t ap -p r o ach es . V o l un t a ri s t ap p r o ach es a r e b a s ed o n t h e a s s u m p t i o n th a t d u r i n g r eg i m et ran s i ti o n s, a c t o r s a r e s o c i a l ly d i s e m b ed d ed i n t h e s t r o n g s en s e t h a t t h ey en co u n t e rv i r tu a l l y n o s t ru c t u ra l co n s t r a in t s . Th i s a s s u m p t i o n , co m b i n ed w i t h t h e d en i a l o fs t r u c tu r a l l y -d e t e r mi n ed i d en ti ti e s an d i n te r e s ts , l e ad s t o an u n d e r s t an d i n g o f h u -m an ag en cy a s t h e co n s eq u en ce o f ac t o r s ' s u b j ec t iv e ev a lu a t io n s o f u n ce r t a i n o b -j e c t i v e c o n d i t i o n s . T h u s , O ' D o n n e l l a n d S c h m i t t e r d i v i d e t h e m i l i t a r y i n t o"so f t - l i ner s" and "hard - l i ner s" based on d i f f e rences i n sub j ec t i ve goa l s o f ac to r sw h o o ccu p y t h e s am e i n s t it u ti o n a l p o s i ti o n . L i k ew i s e , t h ey s ep a r a t e o p p o s i t i o n t ot h e i n c u m b e n t a u th o r it a ri a n r e g i m e i n t o " m i n i m a l i s t " a n d " m a x i m a l i s t " c a m p sacco r d i n g t o ac t o r s ' s u b j ec ti v e g o a ls , w h i ch ma y o r m ay n o t co r r e s p o n d to t h e i r"ob jec t i ve" soc ioec ono m ic pos i t i ons (1986 , 15 -17 , 63 ).S t ruc tu ra l approaches , by con t ras t , r e ly on ob j ec t i ve cond i t i ons as t he p r inc ipa lex p l an a t o r y v a r i ab l e . Th i s p r i o r i t i z a t i o n o f o b j ec t i v e co n d i t i o n s s t ems f r o m t h eas s u m p t i o n t h a t a c to r s a r e d e f i n ed b y s o c i a l r e l a ti o n s an d , h en ce , t h e i r s u b j ec t iv eevaluat ions are e piphe nom ena l cons eque nces of m em bersh ip in social col lectivi ties .Temporal Focus. A s eco n d d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w een s t r u c t u r a l an d v o l u n t a r i s t ap -p r o ach es c o n ce r n s h o w f a r b ack i n h i s t o r y to ex t en d t h e an a l y s i s t o i d en t if y cau s eso f r e g i m e c h a n g e . S t r u c t u r a l a p p r o a c h e s e m p h a s i z e l o n g - r a n g e , t e m p o r a l l y r e -m o t e c a u se s . T h i s l o n g - r a n g e t e m p o r a l f o c u s s t e m s f r o m t h e a s s u m p t io n t h a t h u -m an ag en cy i s g en e r a t ed b y p r e - ex i s t in g s o c i a l re l a ti o n s . H en ce , ex p l an a t i o n s o fr eg i me c h an g e m u s t l o ca t e cau s e s i n s o c i a l s t ru c t u r e s th a t t emp o r a l l y p r eced e t h eac to r s w h o ca r r y o u t t h e t r an sf o r ma t i o n . A n d t h e s o c i a l s t r u c tu r e s u n d e r s t o o d tocau s e r eg i m e ch an g e o f t en ex i s t l o n g b e f o r e t h e ac t u a l t r an s f o r ma t i o n t h a t is t h et a rg e t o f an a ly s is . F o r ex a mp l e , in B a r r i n g t o n M o o r e ' s ( 1 9 6 6 ) acco u n t o f th e o r i -g i n s o f mo d e r n d em o cr a t i c an d t o t a li ta r ian r eg i mes , t h e s e o u t co m es a r e t r ea ted a ss t ru c t u r a l l eg ac i e s o f h i s t o r i ca l ly - r em o t e p a t te r n s o f p r e i n d u s t r ia l ag r a r i an c l a s sre l a t i ons .V o l u n t a ri s t ap p r o ach es , b y co n t ra s t , f o cu s o n s h o r t -t e r m , t emp o r a l l y p r o x i ma t ecau s es . Th i s s h o r t -r an g e t emp o r a l f o cu s s t ems f r o m t h e a s s u m p t i o n th a t p r e - ex i s t-i ng soc i a l r e l a t i ons canno t exp la in t he behav io r o f ac to r s . A focus on h i s to r i ca l l yr em o t e s o c i a l s tr u c t u r e s is t h e r e f o r e u n n eces s a ry . B ecau s e ag en t s a r e u n d e r s t o o dto ex i s t p r io r to s t ruc tu res , a t em pora l f r am e tha t cap tu res t he i r i n t e rac t i ons dur ingt h e m o m e n t o f t ra n s it io n s e e m s a p p r o pr ia te . A c c o r d i n g t o O ' D o n n e l l a n d S c h m i t te r( 1 9 8 6, 4 8 ) , f o r ex amp l e , an a l y s e s o f t r an s it io n s f r o m au t h o r i ta r i an i s m s h o u l d b e -g i n b y f o c u s i n g o n h o w i n cu m b en t e l it e s c r ea te p o l i ti c a l o p en i n g s . W h en h i s to r i-ca l f ac to r s a re u t i li zed i n voh in t a r i s t approache s , t hey p l ay t he cau sa l ly i n s ign i f i can tr o l e o f p r o v i d i n g a co n t ex t u a l b ack - d r o p f o r t em p o r a l l y p r o x i m a t e p r o ces s e s w h i chac t u a ll y d o t h e ex p l an a t o r y w o r k .Use of Comparison. S o c i a l s c i en ce t h eo r y - b u i l d i n g i n v o l v es t en s i o n b e t w eens eek i n g cau s a l g en e r a l i z a t i o n s t r u e ac r o s s man y ca s e s an d cap t u r i n g each ca s e ' sd i s ti n c ti v e f ea tu r e s . Th i s t en s i o n h as f u e l ed m u ch d eb a t e o v e r t h e m er i ts o f i d io -


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graph ic ana lys i s , wh ich i s sens i t ive to the un iqueness o f cases , as opposed to no-mothe t ic ana lys i s , wh ich deve lops genera l iza t ions tha t acc oun t fo r severa l o r evena l l in s tances o f a phenom eno n (Col l i e r 1993) .Volun tar is t approaches have an a f f in ity wi th the id iograph ic comp ara t ive method .Th is a f f in i ty i s roo ted in the co ncep t ion o f reg ime t rans fo rmat ions as con t ingen t ,"unde rde te rm ined" even ts fo r w hich ac to rs ' sub jec t ive percep t ions a re the p r inc i -pa l exp lana t ion . He nce , each t rans i t ion i s un ique because " the unexp ec ted and theposs ib le a re as impor tan t as the usua l and the p robab le , " and the "normal soc ia lsc ience" ques t fo r gen era l iza t ions and p red ic t ions i s re jec ted in favor o f id iograph icex p l an a t i o n s t h a t em p h as i ze ch an ce an d co n t i n g en cy (O 'Do n n e l l an d Sch m i t t e r1986, 3-5).S t ruc tu ra l approaches , by con t ras t , have an a f f in i ty wi th the nomothe t ic com-para t ive m ethod . Soc ia l s t ruc tu res , un l ike undersoc ia l i zed agen ts , a re impersona l ,non-con t ingen t , and hav e causa l p roper t i es tha t a re re la t ive ly un i fo r m across t imeand space (M anicus 1980). T he impersonal i ty and non-c on t ingen cy o f soc ia l s t ruc-tu res o r ien t s truc tu ra l approaches toward deve lop ing causa l genera l iza t ions wh ichexp la in , fo r example , why coun t r ies wi th s imi la r s t ruc tu ra l fea tu res exper iences imi la r reg ime t rans fo rmat ions .Level o f Analysis. St ruc tu ra l and vo lun tar i s t approaches d i f fe r in t e rms o f theleve l o f ana lys i s a t wh ich they exp la in reg ime change . Like s tuden ts o f in te rna-t iona l re la tions , s tuden ts o f reg ime cha nge face a " leve l o f ana lys i s p rob lem " cre-a ted by the d i f f i cu l ty "o f assess ing the re la t ive impor tance o f causa l fac to rs a td ifferent levels of aggregat ion" (Wendt 1991, 387; see also Singer 1961). In thes tudy o f reg ime chang e , d i f fe ren t unde r ly ing concep t ions o f agenc y and s t ruc tu recontr ibu te to the priori tizat ion o f causal factors at d i fferent levels of an alysis . Struc-tu ra l approaches em phas ize mac ro- leve l variab les . Vo lun tar i st approaches , by con-tras t , emphasize micro-level variables .9F i v e l ev e ls o f an a l y s is a r e co m m o n l y em p l o y ed i n s t u d ie s o f r eg i m e ch an g e :macro-s t ruc tu ra l , domes t ic -s t ruc tu ra l , in s t i tu t iona l , soc ia l g roup , and leadersh ip(see F igure 3 ). The mac ro-s t ruc tu ra l l eve l cons is t s o f var iab les tha t opera te a t thein te rna t iona l sys tem ic and na t ion-s ta te l eve l s , such as w or ld -sys tem pos i t ion , de-g ree o f na t iona l econo m ic deve lopment , and na t iona l cu ltu re . Th e dom es t ic -st ruc-t u ra l l ev e l en co m p as s e s "o b j ec t i v e" s o c i a l g ro u p s d e f i n ed b y f ac t o r s s u ch a ssoc ioec onom ic pos i tion . Dom es t ic c lasses and func t iona l ro le g roups a re dom es-t i c -s t ruc tu ra l var iab les . T he ins t itu t iona l l eve l com pr i ses fo rmal dom es t ic o rgan i -za t ions and the i r ru les and p rocedures . Po l i t i ca l par t i es , mi l i t a ry o rgan iza t ions ,s tate bureaucrac ies , and reg im e com ponen ts , such as cons t i tu tiona l o r l eg i s la t iveru les and p rocedu res , a re ins ti tu tiona l var iab les . The f inal two leve l s o f ana lys i s - -the soc ia l g roup a nd leadersh ip l eve l s - - -encom pass sub jec t ive ly -def ined g roupsand spec i f i c po l it i ca l l eaders , respec tive ly . Soc ia l m ovem ents , ideo log ica l fac tionswi th in the m i li ta ry , reg ime hard - l iners and so f t - l iners , and m odera te and m ax ima l i s toppos i t ions a re soc ia l g roup var iab les . Ind iv idua l s wh o lead sub jec t ive ly -def inedsocial groups o r ins t i tu t ional- level organiza t ions , such as pol i t ical part ies , govern -ments , and mil i tar ies , are leadership factors .S t ruc tu ra l approaches use var iab les f rom the macro-s t ruc tu ra l and domes t ic -s t ructural levels . Variables from the domest ic-s t ructural level are usual ly subordi-na ted to var iab les f rom the m acro-s t ruc tu ra l l eve l and t rea ted as in te rven ing causes .


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F IG U R E 3L e v e l s o f A n a l y s i s i n t h e S t u d y o f R e g i m e C h a n g e

A n a l y t i c A p p r o a c h L e v e l o fA n a l y s i sE x a m p l e s o f

V a r i a b l e s

Im , ~ .

rethinking agency and structure

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