The missing dimension of change: Institutional integrity as a filter for crisis-induced reform in Hungary and Poland

This thesis investigates why European Union member states exhibit varying patterns of domestic institutional change when exposed to the same pandemic instrument, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The study employs a Most Similar System Design, comparing Hungary and Poland through theoretically driven Structured Focused Comparison. Institutional integrity, conceptualized on Kirby’s (2022) purpose, legitimacy, and commitment pillars, emerges as the independent variable that underpins the hypothesized causal mechanism. The research theorizes that the level of pre-crisis institutional integrity of a member state conditions the magnitude of domestic reform induced by the RRF. This magnitude comprises the dependent variable of this study and is measured through Mahoney and Tehlen’s (2009) framework of gradual institutional change. Empirical findings suggest that, while both countries possess lower spectrum integrity profiles, the persistence of an institutional nucleus with...Show moreThis thesis investigates why European Union member states exhibit varying patterns of domestic institutional change when exposed to the same pandemic instrument, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The study employs a Most Similar System Design, comparing Hungary and Poland through theoretically driven Structured Focused Comparison. Institutional integrity, conceptualized on Kirby’s (2022) purpose, legitimacy, and commitment pillars, emerges as the independent variable that underpins the hypothesized causal mechanism. The research theorizes that the level of pre-crisis institutional integrity of a member state conditions the magnitude of domestic reform induced by the RRF. This magnitude comprises the dependent variable of this study and is measured through Mahoney and Tehlen’s (2009) framework of gradual institutional change. Empirical findings suggest that, while both countries possess lower spectrum integrity profiles, the persistence of an institutional nucleus with organizational agency in Poland enabled more substantive reform, whereas the scarcity of organizational agency in Hungary resulted in less concrete change. Ultimately, this study acknowledges the causal relevance of these findings but suggests a more comprehensive approach where institutional integrity is analyzed in parallel with the domestic and European political axis, as well as the influence of civil society, in order to establish clear causation.Show less

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The missing dimension of change: Institutional integrity as a filter for crisis-induced reform in Hungary and Poland