Le combat de l’Organisation et de l’Institution

• Main Author: Salvador Juan
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Association Internationale des Sociologues de Langue Française 2006-10-01
• Series: Sociologies
• Subjects: organization; institution; history of ideas; social policies; associations
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/sociologies/582

Of all the debates which stir up and energize the discipline, the debate which opposes the concepts of organization and institution is without a doubt the one with the highest stakes both for theoretical knowledge and practical action. This debate has been present since the origins of sociology as an academic discipline, and is currently developing in new directions as a result of the renewal of evolutionism in all of the social sciences, particularly sociology, economy, and psychology. To better understand the impact of this debate, as well as its tangible consequences in the modern world--especially in the domain of social policy-- this article first reminds us of the ‘genetic’ baggage of these concepts and their theoretical environment through a brief discussion of the founders of the discipline. The article then shows that those who confused "organization" and "institution" in the xxth century also juxtaposed "social systems" and "social structures", as did the evolutionists. Finally, the author concludes by illustrating the issues which may arise from the ways institutions consider organizations, based on recent texts relating to various groups and associations.