Layering Informal Institutions: The Case of Religious Minority Holidays in Turkey

Although formal and informal institutions play major roles in socio-political life, institutional analyses have focused on formal institutions (or parchment institutions), ignoring or underestimating the role of informal institutional factors and mechanisms. Hence, compared to formal institutions, informal institutions remain relatively understudied and undertheorized in institutional literature. Given this lacuna in institutional theory, this study focuses on the role of informal institutions in socio-political life. This study first offers a new, improved typology of informal institutions, which identifies four novel types of informal institution: 1) symbiotic, 2) superseding, 3) layering and 4) subversive. The study then illustrates subversive informal institutions by analyzing a case of informal institution derived from the Turkish context. The current study suggests that religious minority groups’ holidays in the Turkish context constitute an illustrative example of layering informal institutions. This particular case shows that actors might comply with formal rules and regulations due to their self-interests but they may not view them as legitimate, rightful and just. When they fail to amend or modify the existing illegitimate formal rules, they might set up relatively more legitimate institutions, informally operating in parallel to the existing formal rules and regulations but having different logic or rationale. The study examines four cases of religious holidays observed and celebrated by religious minority groups in Turkey: Christmas (Noel) and Easter (Paskalya) by Christian religious minorities, and Aşure and Gadiri Hum by the Muslim Alevi religious minority. The chapter benefits from the data derived from in-depth interviews with religious leaders and representatives of related civil society organizations.