Institutions and Political Culture

Abstract

Despite the development of democracy depends on many factors, in the academic and political debate the emphasis has been especially made on one of them: institutions. The article argues that the relevance of institutions is relative and that their real relevance depends on other factors. For that reason, the study and design of institutions has to consider the context, especially the civic culture. Since civic culture affects a lot on the effect institutions have on democracy’s development, the article analizes if it is possible to influence the development of civic culture through institutional reforms.