Navigating the World of Political Institutions

It’s not enough to want to affect the world. Or to come up with a theoretical standard for good policy. To develop truly efficient legislation people must understand the complex world of governing organizations—from courts to Congress and from school boards to the United Nations.

It was with these ideas in mind that the Program on Political Institutions (PPI) was established. Launched this fall and housed at the Harris School, the Program focuses on institutions— local, domestic, and international—that write and implement public policy. Harris School Associate Professor and the Program’s first director William Howell sees PPI serving as an “intellectual hub around the University” for people studying the field, as well as a way to help inform the discussion in the context of creating policy. “With this knowledge, people will be more effective when they try to actually enact new policy,” he explained.

A variety of factors converged for PPI’s creation at the Harris School this autumn, including several faculty members hired in recent years who research political institutions, the development of workshops focused on related issues, as well as expressed interest from faculty across campus.

According to Duncan Snidal, an associate professor at the Harris School and faculty affiliate with PPI, elements of the program—specifically a focus on political economy—go back to the days before the School was established and it was the Committee on Public Policy Studies. Later on, when it became a formalized school, Snidal said faculty “made a decision to make political economy one of its core elements” along with statistic and microeconomics.

Because PPI brings together diverse faculty, especially political scientists and economists, Snidal said, “We actually get to talk to each other about different substantive matters through a common language and understanding about how to think about problems.”

What started as a series of conversations over long lunches last January between Snidal, Howell, and a few colleagues is now up and running. PPI is offering grants to graduate students and will hold regular workshops and conferences. Additionally, a speaker series and some of the School’s existing workshops, including the American Politics Workshop and the Political Economy Workshop, will be run through PPI.

At a kick-off conference in October, Harris School faculty affiliated with the Program presented papers to highlight their range of work and methodologies. In November, PPI hosted scholars from around the country to discuss Harris School Assistant Professor Christopher Berry’s book manuscript, Imperfect Union: Representation and Taxation in Multi-level Governments.

While PPI’s core functions are moving forward, Howell added, “We hope to grow the Program in terms of its visibility in the University, the kind of functions it supports, and financially so there is a deeper pool of resources from which it will draw.”

Elizabeth Jenkins

For more information, visit harrisschool.uchicago.edu/Centers/ppi/.