Anthony Giddens於1999 BBC Reith 講座所提出的概念。指一個社會機構概念已經轉變其功能或意義，但唯獨名稱被保留下來。

放眼四顧,我們看到的機構與從前無異, 名稱不變, 但內涵則大異其趣。我們仍然討論民族、家庭、工作、傳統、自然,好像它們和以前一樣。其實不然。舊瓶不變, 但裡頭裝的已是新酒了 – 這不只發生在美國、英國或法國, 而是舉世皆然。這就是我所稱的「空殼機構」(shell institutions), 這種組織的能力不足以應付所須面對的挑戰。 (Giddens, 2001:21)

Everywhere we look, we see institutions that appear the same as they used to be from the outside, and carry the same names, but inside have become quite different. We continue to talk of the nation, the family, work, tradition, nature, as if they were all the same as in the past. They are not. The outer shell remains, but inside all is different - and this is happening not only in the US, Britain, or France, but almost everywhere. They are what I call shell institutions, and I shall talk about them quite a bit in the lectures to come. They are institutions that have become inadequate to the tasks they are called upon to perform. (Giddens, 1999 ¹⁾ )

• 講座第一講原文 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_99/week1/week1.htm
• Giddens, A., [陳其邁/譯] (2001). 失控的世界(Runaway world). 時報.

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