Parliament at War: Partisan Conflict in Parliamentary System of Government during periods of National Crisis

Abstract

The official parliamentary Opposition serves an important accountability function when it scrutinises the actions of the Government. Yet during periods of national crisis, such as war, the expectations surrounding how the Opposition ought to perform this role seem altered. In response, this thesis examines how periods of national crisis influence the partisan conflict of parliamentary discourse in the context of the Australian Commonwealth Parliament. Partisan conflict is initially quantified by House of Representatives voting divisions, with a mean comparison analysis comparing the frequency of divisions during periods of known crisis. A significant diminution of partisan conflict is observed during these periods of crisis. This inverse relationship between crises and partisan conflict is further examined in two case studies: the First World War and the Second World War. Media content analysis of the Sydney Morning Herald, and qualitative content analysis of parliamentary debate is undertaken. The outcome of this multi-method approach is to demonstrate a robust inverse relationship between national crises and partisan conflict, such that, as the sense of national crisis increases, the degree of partisan conflict decreases. It is concluded that this relationship reflects a positive capacity for bipartisanship when the situation requires.