A Theory of the Field (Book summary)

Micro foundation of the field theory is not rational choice but the fact that actors all have different levels of social skills, which is defined as “a complex mix of cognitive, affective, and linguistic facilitates that render individuals more or less effective as skilled strategic actors supremely well adapted to the demands of collective action”. Skilled social actors are better at inducing collective actions. Skilled actors frame different stories to induce cooperation from people by appealing to their identity, belief, and interests, while at the same time, using those same stories to frame actions against various opponents (Goffman, 1974). Frame can be 1) tell others what to do 2) set agendas.
Skilled social actors form a strategic action field. Related organizations form a strategic field.  There are three patterns of fields’ embeddedness: 1) one in which a number of fields are nested hierarchically in each other, a system resemble Russian dolls. 2) Fields can be dependent or independent. One field can exercise more power on the other/ two field exert same power over each other. 3) Some fields are embedded in a dense latticework of other fields, while others are comparative isolated.
Formal organizations are hierarchical strategic fields. For example, Leifer (1995) New York Yankees dominated baseball system and create a system that favors them from 1920 to 1970. University collectives are more equally dependent on each other.
 Modern state is a collection of interrelated fields. Each field has its own internal governance units to smooth the functioning and reproduction, liaison to and lobbying arms to other fields. Fields need to be populated and growth of high education and development of professions follow field development.
1) Strategic action fields, defined as mesolevel social orders, as the basic structural building block of modern political/ organizational life in the economy, civil society, and the state.
2) Any given field is embedded in a broader environment consisting of countless proximate or distal fields as well as states.
3) Strategic action field is well defined collective actors. "a mesolevel social order in which actors are attuned to and interact with one another on the basis of shared understandings about the purposes of the field, relationships to others in the field, and the rules governing legitimate actions in the field."
4) Field can achieve its stability either through single dominant group or political coalition based on the cooperation of a number of groups.
5) When there are external shock that creates uncertainty in the field, the field will go through several contentious episode and come down to a settlement.

By Kate Jue Wang

References:

Fligstein, Neil, and Doug McAdam. A theory of fields. Oxford University Press, 2012.