TWO OPERATIONALIZATION PROBLEMS OF "INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES" ARGUMENT

Abstract

In a previous work, we discuss three uses of argument of "institutional capacity" which, although presented under the same label, are in fact very different things. Are uses of the term – and the typical reference to the seminal article by Cass Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule – in ways we identify as banal, redundant or absurd. Although they can generate valid arguments under any criteria, such use may not be reappointed to what these authors call the analysis of "institutional capacity". In this brief theoretical essay, we set out the considerations outlined above to try to achieve a distinct and complementary objective: what happens when trying to actually use the argument as described by Sunstein & Vermeule? Let's point out and discuss two challenges for the effective operationalization of the argument of “institutional capacity”. First, what we call the information problem, which is connected to the role that empirical inputs play in this kind of arguments. Second, the compliance problem, as such arguments end up placing excessive requirements on real-world decision-makers.