Institution

Institutions, according to Samuel P. Huntington, are "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior".Further, institutions can refer to mechanisms which govern the behavior of a set of individuals within a given community; moreover, institutions are identified with a social purpose, transcending individuals and intentions by mediating the rules that govern living behavior.According to Geoffrey M. Hodgson, it is misleading to say that an institution is a form of behavior. Instead, Hodgson states that institutions are "integrated systems of rules that structure social interactions".