Jacquinet, Marc2025-06-032025-06-032025-05Jacquinet, Marc (2025) The Symbiotic Relationship Between Institutions and Governance: A Critical Analysis of Power, Legitimacy, and Democratic Performancehttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/19918This essay examines the intricate relationships between institutions and governance, exploring how formal and informal institutional arrangements shape governmental effectiveness, democratic legitimacy, and policy outcomes. Through a comprehensive analysis of theoretical frameworks, empirical evidence, and comparative case studies, this work demonstrates that institutions serve as both constraining and enabling structures that fundamentally determine the quality of governance. The analysis reveals that while strong institutions can enhance democratic performance and state capacity, institutional design choices reflect underlying power dynamics and can perpetuate inequalities. This investigation contributes to ongoing debates about institutional reform, democratic consolidation, and the optimization of governance systems in diverse political contexts.engInstitutionsGovernanceDemocracyState capacityInstitutional designPolitical economyRelatório