A formal institution is an officially established organization or rule with recognized authority, procedures and usually legal consequences. An informal social norm is an unwritten expectation about how people should behave, maintained through approval, criticism or social pressure rather than formal enforcement.
In the political context, a formal institution might be a national electoral commission, parliament, court or data-protection authority. It may regulate digital campaigning, certify election results, investigate complaints or enforce rules about political data. Its authority comes from a constitution, legislation or another recognized legal framework. For example, a data-protection authority can require a political campaign to stop unlawful processing of voters’ personal data.
An informal social norm develops through repeated behaviour and shared expectations. In digital politics, users may expect politicians to answer questions publicly, disclose sponsored political content or avoid spreading unverified claims. These expectations are not necessarily written into law. A politician who violates them may lose credibility, receive public criticism or be challenged by journalists and online communities, but may not face legal punishment.
The key difference is the source and enforcement of authority:
| Formal institution | Informal social norm |
|---|---|
| Official organization, law or procedure | Unwritten expectation or convention |
| Enforced through legal, administrative or institutional sanctions | Enforced through reputation, approval, criticism or exclusion |
| Authority is formally recognized | Authority depends on social acceptance |
| Example: an electoral commission investigating campaign violations | Example: users expecting politicians to correct misleading posts |
A common misconception is that informal means unimportant. Informal norms can shape political participation and public trust, while formal institutions may struggle to control rapidly changing online behaviour. This illustrates power, because institutions and communities both influence political action, and systems, because formal rules and informal expectations interact.
For an IB Digital Society question using the command term distinguish, define both categories, compare their authority and enforcement, and apply the distinction to a digital political situation. Do not merely list examples. Explain how each affects people and communities, separating established impacts from future implications.
