Do institutions possess explanatory and prescriptive powers imputed to them by institutionalism? If they do, why do outcomes in developing countries (DGC) defy those powers? I argue that, although institutions play a role, they are neither the explanation for outcomes nor the prescription for development problems. The primacy of institutions is defied in DGC because ‘new institutionalism’ shares the premises of modernization theory-inspired ‘old institutionalism’. Both fail to subordinate institutions to society-rooted politics, the pre-eminent explanatory variable. I support this argument by: (1) demonstrating the pre-eminence of politics vis-à-vis institutions; and (2) relating various policy failures in DGC to the failure of the unbroken thread between old and new institutionalisms to recognize this pre-eminence. Because politics explains both institutional and socio-political outcomes, I propose that the crucial difference between politics in Western democracies and developing countries – and not institutions – be the focus of inquiry to account for outcomes and to prescribe solutions for DGC.
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