 Another important contemporary branch of conventionalist theory is propounded by John Searle (1965, inter alia) Like Rawls, Searle takes promises to be essentially institutional actions, made possible by the very rules of the promising convention. Similarly, promissory obligations are a kind of institutional obligation, one that attends those already bound by the institution. And ultimately, the normative force of the individual promises is grounded in the value of the convention as a whole. See the Promises and Speech acts  (section 6.1)  below for further information.