Lecture Preview | The Power of Ideas and Discourse in Political Analysis: A Discursive Institutionalist Perspective

Topic

The Power of Ideas and Discourse in Political Analysis: A Discursive Institutionalist Perspective

Time

Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 10:00–11:30

Venue

Zhongguancun Campus, Renmin University of China

The Speaker

Vivien A. Schmidt is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, holds an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Brussels (ULB), and is Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Professor Emerita of International Relations in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Professor Emerita of Political Science, as well as Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University. She has published thirteen books and over 300 scholarly journal articles or book chapters. Her research focuses on European political economy, institutions, democracy, and political theory—in particular on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis (discursive institutionalism).

She was the first to systematically establish discursive institutionalism as the “fourth neo-institutionalism,” following rational choice institutionalism, historical institutionalism, and sociological institutionalism, emphasizing the central role of ideas and discourse in the formation, maintenance, and transformation of institutions, and viewing institutions not merely as structures or rules, but as processes continually constructed and reconstructed through discursive interaction. Her latest book is Europe’s Crisis of Legitimacy: Governing by Rules and Ruling by Numbers in the Eurozone (2020)—recipient of the Best Book Award of the American Political Science Association’s Ideas, Knowledge, Politics section and Honorable Mention for the Best Book Award of the European Union Studies Association.

Organizers: School of International Studies, Renmin University of China; Chenghai Institute of Global Development and Security.