Philip Ethington and Eileen McDonagh The Eclectic Center of the New Institutionalism Axes of Analysis in Comparative Perspective This special section of Social Science History launches a series of five articles illustrative of what we believe is an eclectic center in the development of historical studies of institutions and policies, often termed the "new institu- tionalism." The new institutionalism emerged in the early 1980s in reaction to "a long season in which social forces and processes were the predomi- nant topics of study" (Orren and Skowronek 1986). While the precise role of institutions varies according to the practitioner, hallmarks of the new in- SocialScience History 19:4 (winter 1995). Copyright © 1996 by the Social Science History Association.