Institutional crises and reforms in policy sectors: the case of asylum policy in Europe

Abstract:

This article develops a conceptual framework for the analysis of institutional crises in policy sectors. Institutional crises are periods in which a policy sector experiences major legitimacy shortfalls, i.e. when its established policy frames, organizational structures and modes of decision-making and service delivery are being fundamentally criticized by political actors within and outside the sector. The framework outlines how institutional crises can be identified, why they develop, what types of response policy-makers may seek to develop when confronted with an institutional crisis, and what kinds of outcome might result from these periods in which the institutional make-up of a policy sector is in a state of flux. The usefulness of the framework is illustrated by applying it to the case of national asylum policies in Europe.