Altered states: Explaining domestic institutional change

Existing explanations of domestic structural change focus on the role crise s play in precipitating radical or episodic change. They largely ignore the sources and consequences of incremental change, even though this type of c hange also can have significant effects for policy processes and outcomes. We outline a framework for studying institutional transformation that accou nts for both forms of change. The argument is a three part one. First, inte rnational and domestic events, including both crises and gradual pressures, open windows of opportunity that provide policy officials with the potenti al to transform existing institutions. Large-scale, system-wide changes ope n large windows, which allow radical change, while small-scale, issue-speci fic problems and changes create more limited opportunities for change. Seco ndly, whether an institutional change follows a window of opportunity depen ds on the actions and interests of state officials. Thirdly, state official s' ability to capitalize on a window of opportunity depends on their instit utional position or capacity; the prevailing institutional arrangements cre ate opportunities for, or place limits on, officials' ability to make chang e. Two case studies illustrate and probe the plausibility of the argument.