Institutionalization of Conflict: How Frame Constellations and Ritualized Identity Dynamics Perpetuate Intractable Intergroup Conflicts

Abstract

We argue that there is utility in studying intractable conflicts using an institutional theory lens. If the frames and behaviors of conflicting groups become both predictable and routinely enacted and legitimated, then a contest of logics among actors and their interactive practices (rather than a single dominant logic and its attendant practices) may be what becomes institutionalized within a field. We study framing of three environmental conflicts to investigate this premise.