Legislative Studies in Western Democracies: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This article summarizes some of the major trends in recent research on Western democratic legislatures, providing a framework for analyzing the findings on Canadian legislative behavior reported in this issue. It focuses on four major areas of legislative research: the individual legislator, his selection of roles, and his constituency service responsibilities; legislative institutions, including party organization, committee reorganization, and decision-making theories; legislative oversight of the executive; and the relationships between the legislature and the political system.