Cultural Capture Among Regulators: A Systematic Review

In established democracies, the threat of regulatory capture—often implicated in major crises—is usually less about financial mechanisms like bribery and more about the subtle social processes of cultural capture. But how exactly is cultural capture defined, theorized, and assessed, and what are its underlying mechanisms, manifestations, and impact? This article presents a systematic review (n = 39) of cultural capture, identifying 7 descriptions and 10 mechanisms. We consolidate these into five underlying concepts (CHAIN): Closeness; Homogeneity; Avoidance; Identities; and Networks. We introduce a parsimonious definition of cultural capture: social and psychological processes that bias regulators' beliefs and behaviors, aligning them with those of the regulatees and marginalizing alternative viewpoints. A key contribution of this article is developing a set of 33 novel behavioral indicators to examine these five concepts empirically and clarify their relationship to regulatory capture. Finally, the review highlights theoretical and methodological issues to address for the field to advance.