This book presents a collection of essays on institutional theory written by the German sociologist and Weber-expert M. Rainer Lepsius. Based on Weber's work, the author develops concepts of institutional theory, which he subsequently applies to topics such as National Socialism, democratization processes, German unification, and the institutionalization of the European Union. By showing how charismatic leadership can under certain circumstances threaten democratic structures and curtail individual freedoms, and by analyzing the structural and cultural conditions under which people develop trust in political and social structures and ultimately come to support and comply with them, the author provides a sound analytical understanding of the development of democratic institutions and a democratic political culture. This collection of essays was edited, translated and commented on by Claus Wendt.
M. Rainer Lepsius, 1928 (Buenos Aires) - 2014 (Heidelberg), was a German sociologist with great influence on the development of German post-war sociology. He was professor of sociology at the Universities Mannheim and Heidelberg and held guest professorships at the universities of Hong Kong, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Stanford, and New York. His work, based on the writing of Max Weber, has a long-lasting influence on German sociology, political science, and history. Today, much of the work of younger social scientists working on institutional theory, on the European Union, German Unification, German democracy, and National Socialism are directly or indirectly influenced and informed by Lepsius.
The editor, Claus Wendt, M.A., Ph.D., a 2008-09 Harkness/Bosch Fellow of Health Policy & Practice at Harvard School of Public Health and J. F. Kennedy Fellow at Harvard's Center for European Studies, is professor of sociology at Siegen University. Wendt's research interests include institutional theory, political sociology, international comparisons of welfare states and healthcare systems, and the sociology of health. He has written and edited more than ten books, e.g. with T. Marmor two volumes on Reforming Healthcare Systems (Edward Elgar, 2011) and with E. Kuhlmann, R. H. Blank, and I. L. Bourgeault The Palgrave International Handbook of Healthcare Policy and Governance (Palgrave, 2015), and has written more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles.
