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According to S. N. Elsenstadt, Institutions are Those Processes and structures, together with the associated set of regulative principles, that arrange human activities in a community "into definite organizational patterns from the point of view of some of the perennial, basic problems of any society or ordered social life." From this perspective, the social dimension of the concept of social institutions is seen in terms of its "institutional spheres," which include family and kinship, education, economics, politics, culture, and stratification. To this list may be added those approaches in psychology in which the unit of analysis is the group, community, or society.Because the subject of "Social Institutions" covers such a vast domain, it will be necessary to focus upon only certain entries of the EIr in this domain. However, before proceeding, it is worth noting that some 150 articles in the first seven volumes may be classified under "social institutions," including the subsections of articles.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENT -- INTRODUCTION -- PART I: ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS OF NORMS AND INSTITUTIONS -- 1. THE EMERGENCE OF COOPERATIVE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- 2. THE EMERGENCE OF NORMS -- 3. THE COSTS OF ORGANIZING SOCIAL COOPERATION -- 4. INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS AND MORAL INSTITUTIONS: AN ENDOGENOUS APPROACH TO THE MODIFICATION OF PREFERENCES -- 5. THE ATTENUATION OF CUSTOMS -- 6. THE KULA: SOCIAL ORDER, BARTER AND CEREMONIAL EXCHANGE -- PART II: THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONS -- 7. A COMPARATIVE INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS IN THE ARTS: THE THEATER -- 8. CULTURAL RESOURCES AND PARTICIPATION IN HIGH CULTURE -- 9. THE WELFARE STATE AND UNEMPLOYMENT: A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS -- PART III: THE EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONS IN A MULTIPLEX SOCIETAL CONTEXT -- 10. PATRONAGE: AN INSTITUTION IN ITS OWN RIGHT -- 11. THE POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF FASCIST PARTY MEMBERSHIP IN GERMANY AND ITALY -- 12. INCENTIVES, GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHINESE COLLECTIVE AGRICULTURE -- 13. TOWARD A THEORY OF UNION EMERGENCE AND DEMISE -- 14. INTRAFAMILIAL MARKETS FOR EDUCATION IN JAPAN -- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE CONTRIBUTORS -- INDEX

A precise model of social institutions is described comprising four dimensions: first, a macro-level of groups, types of actions, and related notions, second, a micro-level of underlying individuals and actions, together with suitable relations of intention, causal belief and power. Power is characterized in a new way emending proposals discussed recently. Third, the model contains intellectual representations of items on the macro- and micro-level. Fourth, it contains a dimension including the origin and development of what we call "social practices" (smallest units of socially relevant behaviour) which gives the model some historical depth. By putting all these items together, a powerful model with a wide range of applications is created. The claim associated with this model is that it applies to all social institutions which are similar to systems listed up in the introduction. The way of applying the model is discussed in detail on the basis of an abstract example.

This article is devoted to the consideration of the processes of fetishization of social institutions. The relevance and significance of institutional topics for modern social philosophy is substantiated. The main approaches to the phenomenon of fetish and the processes of fetishization derived from it in social life are considered. The contribution of classics and modern researchers in the theorizing of fetishization in the economic sphere of public life is noted. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of market institution imports on various spheres of life has been carried out. The transformation of the activities of various power actors is traced, which now more and more resembles the work of managers to attract and retain investments in the national economic space. Based on the analysis of the experience of the Russian reality of the transitional post-Soviet period, the facts of the fetishization of advanced institutional models rooted in liberal democratic social ideas are considered. The impossibility of carrying out state development along a pure democratic path and, as a result, the formation of the so-called "hybrid democracy" in Russia. Questions regarding the need to take into account the unique national context and the specifics of the environment for future institutional transformations are considered in detail. The specificity of the triple transition of the post-communist countries, which led to the prompt intentions of power actors to establish effectively functioning institutions, is revealed. In line with the pragmatics of modern socio-philosophical works, one of the alternative ways of institutional building is shown. The experience of Eastern states in developing democratic ideas and remodeling their own institutions is critically analyzed. In conclusion, the main results of the study are summarized, serving as a starting point for future analysis of individual contextual realities in which imported social institutions are immersed.

Mass media have emerged as a social institution, assuming many of the functions formerly served by traditional social institutions such as the church, school, government, and family. However, in Western countries operating on the private-ownership model (most notably the United States), media systems were never intended to serve as a social institution. Instead, the primary objective of a privately owned media organization is to make a profit for the company. Thus, many films, television programs, and Web sites contain sexual and violent content designed to attract the largest imaginable audience. The messages contained in these programs can be confusing or disruptive to a public looking to the media for direction, purpose, and meaning. The public's reliance on the Western media for guidance and support can therefore be dangerous. Within this context, media literacy provides strategies that enable people to critically examine media messages and put media programming into meaningful perspective.