Historical institutionalist studies have explained institutional change
as resulting from critical junctures that interrupt long periods of
stability or from endogenous, incremental evolution. Building on these
theories, discursive institutionalists have focused on the roles of
agency, ideas and discourse as explainers of change. Combining these
approaches, this article analyses Finland's decision in 2014 to transfer
the administration of basic social assistance from municipalities to
the central government. This study demonstrates that institutional
change can be both abrupt and evolutionary. Due to sudden, exceptional
political circumstances, the decision in question was made quickly and
under pressure, circumventing possible veto players. However, it was
possible only because of the incremental, endogenous change that had
occurred in the way in which social assistance was administered at the
municipal level. It enabled a change in political discourse, which
eroded the credibility of the ideational frames that policy actors had
previously utilised to reject the centralised model.