Collective Action; the Juncture of Institutionalism and Communicative Planning Approach

Institution is the collective action in control, liberation, and expansion of individual action; so that individuals are identified and realized through their participation in institutions. In the institutionalist perspective, the question of planning goes beyond the dichotomy of public-private sectors, and is transmuted from being an individual or interpersonal activity to an aspect of governance. Communicative action is the collective actions of the agents involved, that is coordinated through acts aiming to reach understanding and unanimity; hence, participants pursue their individual goals under the condition that they can harmonise their plans of action. Communicative planning approach is opposed to the imposition of top-down planning, and gives emphasis to the inclusion of all actors in the process of planning. This approach notices that communicative processes can help create consensus on critical social issues and foster the political will to bring about change. Exploring the content of the two mentioned approaches (institutionalism and communicative planning) indicates that despite the differences between these two schools of thought, both have distinct similarities; as they introduce ‘collective action’ as the basis for decision-making facing contradictory interests. This paper reviews and investigates the pertaining literature, and identifies the junctures of these approaches, with the emphasis on the role and position of collective action.