An Evolutionary View of Institutional Complexity

In this conceptual paper, we discuss the evolutionary root causes of institutional complexity, defined as inherently incompatible prescriptions when different sources of institutions intersect at the same space and time. We suggest that societies are not delineated by clear-cut boundaries, but dynamically evolve along multiple co-existing levels of social lineages, each of which is associated with a given replicator. Institutional complexity thus can be conceived as a mix of potentially conflicting dispositions due to replicators derived from different historically separate social lineages. Decomposing institutional complexity into its evolutionary roots, we identify two types of inherent incompatibility that define institutional complexity: the incompatibilities between co-existing levels of the same social lineage as they evolve, and the incompatibilities between social lineages at the same level as they synthesize after having been separate in history but intersect again at the same space and time. Implications are discussed for future institutional studies