The year we reflected on institutions and their role in political economy

If there is a lesson to takeaway from the institutional turn in political economy, combined with the political currents of populism, it is this: Institutional strength is both vital and fragile

The United States (US) may be about to receive a lesson in overconfidence.

 

It has been argued since 2016, when Donald Trump was first elected President, that there are limited ways in which he could permanently alter the trajectory of a country with strong and stable institutions. It has been stated at various points that his own party would hold him in check; that the President needs the approval of Congress to operate; that blatantly illegal actions would not stand up in court; that the federal government was too large and vast to do one man’s bidding.

 

To be fair,