Performativity of Collective Norms

This chapter elucidates the normativity of institutions by drawing on the concept of performativity. As discussed in the previous chapter, institutions are generally viewed as a type of agreement-based explicit norms that often interact with other types of collective norms. In particular, belief-based observable norms can shape more explicit institutions, which is typically interpreted and identified by social scientists. In short, a given discourse can be a collective observable norm if it has normativity that actors follow for their desire-independent reasons. Studying the performativity of a discourse explains the dynamic process between norms and institutions. Building on the theoretical classification of different types of performativity (generic, effective, self-fulfilling, and counterperformativity), this chapter first argues that the generic type of performativity is essential for observable social norms that mobilize relevant institutions. The second part of the chapter explores how we can identify such collective social norms among various discourses. Inevitably a subjective interpretive judgment, the objectivity of the identification can be ensured to some extent by considering the felicitous conditions of performative discourses in the previous linguistic literature. It also illuminates the significance of counterperformativity, which triggers changes in existing institutions and presents an intriguing object of study.