Evolving power and environmental policy: Explaining institutional change with group selection

This paper presents a theory of institutional change that builds upon a synthesis of theoretical insights from the literatures on group selection and socio-economic power. Based on a critical reading of relevant studies in sociology, political science and philosophy, we propose a taxonomy of power comprising different sources and mechanisms of exercising power. We discuss how these can be incorporated in a group selection framework to explain the evolution of environmental institutions and policies. This may improve our understanding of the feasibility, effectiveness and dynamics of the latter. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.