Parliamentary Discussions Research Articles

Abortion debates in Finland and the Republic of Ireland: textual analysis of experiential thinking and argumentation in parliamentary and layperson discussions

BackgroundThe ethical discussion about abortion has been polarized in Finland and the Republic of Ireland, two European countries with very different abortion legislation (liberal vs. highly restrictive). The aim of the present study was to analyze experiential thinking patterns and argumentative strategies in political and layperson debates regarding induced abortion.MethodsThe content of Finnish and Irish texts (n = 493), consisting of transcripts of parliamentary debates and online texts, such as blogs, was analyzed systematically. The texts were investigated for the aspects of experiential thinking, for selected argumentative moves and for any differences in the prevalence of these features between countries or between political vs. layperson debates.ResultsThe Finnish and Irish discussions about induced abortion relied heavily on experiential thinking patterns and emotionally laden arguments instead of objective research data. This was evident in the very high prevalence of testimonials, narratives, loaded language and appeals to emotion in both political and layperson debates regardless of the country or the debater's position on abortion issue. Research data that did not support the position of the debater were relatively often omitted by confirmation bias. The Irish debaters appealed to popularity more often than the Finnish ones, while magical/religious thinking was mainly observed in the Finnish layperson discussion. The national history and the prevailing cultural and religious atmosphere of the two countries could explain these differences.ConclusionsThe abortion debate mostly reinforces the opinions of one's peer group rather than convinces the opposite party to change their position. The stalemate and continuation of the same arguments being repeated could be associated with experiential thinking and emotional argumentative strategies in both political and layperson debates.

La consolidación del Estado evaluador a través de políticas de rendición de cuentas: Trayectoria, producción y tensiones en el sistema educativo

Chile es un caso particularmente relevante para el estudio de la introducción de políticas de rendición de cuentas (RdC). Durante la primera década de los 2000 Chile intensificó el uso de estas medidas para intentar corregir “las fallas” de un mercado escolar altamente desregulado. El artículo examina el proceso de adopción de las políticas de RdC y la consolidación del Estado evaluador por medio de la construcción del “Sistema de Aseguramiento de la Calidad” durante el período 2006-2011. A nivel teórico, el artículo se basa en el enfoque de “la política y la semiótica de la adopción de políticas”. Metodológicamente, el estudio examina los documentos asociados al ámbito de la política (discursos oficiales, leyes, discusiones parlamentarias, informes, documentos gubernamentales), sumado a 27 entrevistas semi-estructuradas a personas involucradas en la producción de políticas (policy-makers, funcionarios del Ministerio, parlamentarios, asesores y técnicos). El artículo examina el proceso de construcción de la política, los factores que abrieron una “ventana de oportunidad” para consolidar dicha política, las disputas discursivas durante el proceso de deliberación, y la emergencia de la RdC como lugar de consenso que sedujo tanto a la derecha como al centro-izquierda.

明治時代のコーポレート・ガバナンス : 明治44年商法改正論議を中心として

明治時代のコーポレート・ガバナンス : 明治44年商法改正論議を中心として

Reforming the Norwegian police between structure and culture: Community police or emergency police

This article examines the reform of the police in Norway between 2012 to 2015 drawing upon central public reports and official documents leading up to the reform. These include the report from the official Inquiry Commission into the police response to the terrorist attacks in Oslo and at Utøya in July 2011, a report issued by a public commission in 2013 – established to analyze challenges within the police – and the resulting government proposal and parliamentary discussion that culminated in a decision to create a new police structure in 2015. While governance capacity and the need for a stronger emergency police were a main concern throughout the process, the importance of governance legitimacy and of maintaining a community police force became more important towards the end. The organizational thinking behind the reform is explained in terms of a structural and an institutional perspective. The analysis shows that both cultural and structural change was seen as prominent instruments for improving the police force, but they were emphasized differently at different points during the process. The analysis demonstrates that political context, agenda settings, attention shifting and situational factors as well as path dependency were important drivers of the reform.

The imaginaries of the Eurasian Union: discursive construction of post-Soviet transnationality in Russia and Kazakhstan

AbstractCouched in the critical discourse studies perspective and developing the notion of political imaginary, this article explores the imaginaries of the transnational integration project of the Eurasian Union that are produced in elite discourses in its two key states, Russia and Kazakhstan. The corpus used comprises transcripts of the two states’ parliamentary discussions and speeches by presidents Putin and Nazarbaev. The article focuses on meaning construction through the discursive types, strategies, and topoi employed in the discourses of the new Union, and the linguistic forms called upon for their articulation. Two discursive strands narrating the Eurasian Union are singled out – the

Legislative agenda setting by a delegative democracy: omnibus bills in the Turkish parliamentary system

ABSTRACTThis article examines the political motives and legislative consequences of Turkish omnibus bills that propose to amend a large number of disparate, unrelated laws. The quantitative analysis reveals, first, that the government uses omnibus bills to covertly change existing laws by attaching new articles to bills that are being deliberated. Second, undercover legislation backfires. The larger the number of current laws changed by an omnibus bill, the more likely those changes are to be annulled by the Constitutional Court. The legislative-efficiency objective behind omnibus bills is thus undermined by legal errors and deficiencies that result from a lack of parliamentary discussion.

Participación y legislación sobre agua en México. Una aproximación histórica

El artículo analiza dos ángulos de la participación social en la legislación sobre agua en México, formulada a partir de la Constitución Política de 1917. Con base en los presupuestos de la ecología política, discierne sobre el papel de la discusión parlamentaria en torno al tema y sobre las plataformas de participación planteadas en cada legislación. Enfatiza la débil intervención del Congreso en el diseño de cada ley y los límites de la participación, distinguiendo tres etapas: una postrevolucionaria, carente de debate parlamentario, que estructuralmente favoreció el control clientelar de la participación. La segunda, marcada con la ley de 1972, que inauguró el debate sobre la democratización de los espacios de concertación, aunque operativamente reforzó el control centralizado de las decisiones. La tercera corresponde a la legislación de 1992, vigente, que innovó en el tema de la participación con la creación de los Consejos de Cuenca, pero que además de merecer atención marginal en la discusión parlamentaria, instrumentalmente limita la construcción de consensos. Concluye que las acciones legislativas, aún tienen pendiente la concreción de la participación como un ejercicio del principio de propiedad nacional asentado en la Constitución Política vigente.

The “Syria traveller”: reintegration or legal sanctioning?

ABSTRACTThis article analyses discourses on Islamist radicalisation and threats of terrorism in Norway, with a focus on a new category of people known as “Syria travellers”, i.e. young Norwegians who go to Syria to fight for the Islamic State. Our analysis of debates in the media, policy documents and parliamentary discussions revealed two main narratives regarding the authorities’ response to Syria travellers: the first emphasises legal sanctions, and the second highlights the reintegration of returnees. We found that contentions about how to react to the new kind of people (the Syria travellers) are intertwined with the way these people are portrayed, understood or “made up”. In the political realm, there is also a striking consensus on the need for both reintegrative and legislative responses.

"Domácí je politické"? Hospodyňství v poválečném Československu perspektivou Ústředí československých hospodyň a národněsocialistických poslankyň

The Domestic Is Political? Housework in Post-War Czechoslovakia from the Perspective of the Organisation of Czechoslovak Housewives and National-Socialist MPsHousework has always been one of the main issues of feminist debates. The aim of the article is to show how the housewife became the subject of political debate. The article focuses on the feminist and political discourse surrounding household chores in post-war Czechoslovakia (1945-1947). Drawing on an analysis of the journal Our Household (Nase domacnost) and discussions in parliament, we argue that after WWII the women's movement and the National Socialists called for the recognition of domestic work as equal to occupations outside the home. This article contributes to the debates about the recognition of housework by showing how the issue of housework was addressed in a particular period of Czech history and what strategies were employed to improve the representation of household chores and the position of housewives in society.

DIMENSIONS OF PUBLIC DEBATE ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GREECE AND EU POLICY FRAMING

This article aims at a critical analysis of Greek public discourse concerning various forms of sexual violence, as presented mainly in Parliamentary discussions, but also in the press where politicians and activists debate the issue. Using the Mageeq methodology and analysed documents, the objective is to investigate the way in which various social actors define gender and make it apparent (or not) within the respective discourse, as well as to examine the framing of specific issues of sexual violence (intra-family violence and trafficking). An additional objective is to highlight the differences and similarities in the conceptualisation of these forms of sexual violence between EU policy texts and the Greek case.

The mainstreaming of radical right exclusionary ideology: Israeli parliamentary discussions over asylum

This study analyses the mainstreaming of radical right ideology in Israel. Focusing on the political discourse used to describe the current asylum issue in the country, the article claims that features of radical right ideology are not limited to the discourse of radical right parties, but increasingly pervade the mainstream. Through discourse analysis of parliamentary discussions over asylum, the study highlights the discursive strategies and linguistic properties used in the expression of radical right ideology. The findings reveal the distinct manner in which both party families express radical right ideology; while the radical right discourse is explicit, overall, the mainstream discourse is implicit, with traces of explicitness observed. The Israeli case reveals significant insights into the scope of radical right ideology and the manner in which, through language and discourse, its features make their way through the political spectrum.

UK space policy and the politics of parliamentary debate

In January 2016, a debate was held on UK space policy in the House of Commons, timed to coincide with the extravehicular activity (EVA) undertaken by British astronaut Major Tim Peake as part of his mission to the International Space Station (ISS). UK participation in ISS activities marked the culmination of a significant reorientation of government space policy in recent years, and analysis of the parliamentary debate facilitates insight into the nature of that reorientation, and the policy goals that lay at its heart. It also delineates three key themes which underpinned the parliamentary debate: the novelty of space policy as a topic of political discussion in parliament; the use of the parliamentary arena as a means through which MPs champion their constituencies as prime locations for valuable economic benefits associated with the space sector; and the portrayal of space as a source of inspiration and driver of aspiration, and as an opportunity for a vigorous space industry policy. The paper argues for the utility of parliamentary analysis as a way to enrich our understanding of the evolution of contemporary UK space policy.

¿Cómo piensa un académico que se hace una ley y cómo se hace una ley realmente? Reflexiones a partir de la intrahistoria de la LOE

The article raises a question frequently addressed by historians of education about the connections and possible discrepancies between political practice and its academic analysis. A researcher may study the processes of making and passing an educational law or, alternatively, may delve into its internal history. The first position favours an objective view, but sometimes makes it difficult to know all of the variables playing a role in the policy-making process. For the purpose of addressing such questions this paper sets out to contrast the images and interpretations underlying academic work with the experience of the actors involved in such processes. The author, relying upon his personal experience in policy-making, reflects upon the tensions between internal and external perspectives that arise when analyzing processes of educational change. The article deals with the internal history of the Law of Education (LOE), providing some keys for facilitating its academic analysis. The processes of preparation, debate, drafting, negotiation and parliamentary discussion of the law are presented and commented on. A number of reflections are included with the aim of helping readers and researchers make the best mixed use of external and internal perspectives in analyzing education policy-making.

Slovenian Socialist Parliament on the Eve of the Dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation: A feeble "ratification body" or important political decision-maker?

In 1986, on the eve of the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation, the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a rather boring authority, restricted to the bureaucratic and formalist framework. It consisted of non‑professional delegates without significant social influence, elected in a specific indirect manner. However, it was this very Assembly that passed several key decisions a few years later, leading to the introduction of a multi‑party system and elements of market economy, as well as strengthening the position of the republic. It seems that at the time this Assembly became the primary factor of transition and that it was this very institution that destabilised the Yugoslav federation. However, such an evaluation has nevertheless not asserted itself. The role of the socialist Assembly appears vague. Consequently the author, in his contribution, seeks to answer the following question: What sort of an authority body was the socialist Assembly? Initially the author presents the genesis of the Yugoslav Assembly system and its basic characteristics, and then he explores the three different levels or possible outlooks on the Assembly: legal level, perceptual level (how people saw the Assembly), and the level of internal mechanisms (how the parliamentary discussions changed).

A “Theological Junto”: the 1641 Lords’ subcommittee on religious innovation

The 1641 Lords’ sub-committee on religious innovation has never been the focus of a dedicated study, despite its acknowledged significance. This article presents the sub-committee as an attempt to control parliamentary discussion of the Church. Its membership was carefully selected to ensure that it would have an anti-Arminian bias. Its discussions addressed a wide range of doctrinal and liturgical questions. The Conformist members of the sub-committee were attempting to re-assert the Reformed identity of the English Church, and roll back the doctrinal and liturgical developments of the 1630s. However, despite the political crisis, they were not prepared to give much ground to Puritan opinion. The sub-committee therefore illustrates the strength of commitment, even amongst leading Reformed theologians, to the idiosyncratic aspects of the English Church Settlement. It is therefore a significant witness to the development of English Conformist opinion.

Challenges in implementing sustainable marine spatial planning: The new Portuguese legal framework case

Being a large maritime nation, the need to develop sustainable ocean planning and management processes in Portugal has been gaining increased importance in the last decade. After promulgating its first national framework law on maritime spatial planning (MSP), Portugal has recently approved a new MSP Diploma that aims at “developing” (i.e. implementing in detail) the framework law. This paper analyzes and discusses the new Portuguese MSP Diploma by (1) briefly presenting its main specificities; (2) analyzing its contents (and comparing them to the EU MSP Directive contents), namely in what pertains to environmental references; (3) analyzing the link between the EU Marine Strategy Directive (MSFD) and the MSP implementation in Portugal; and (4) discussing the main challenges that the Diploma poses to the long-term sustainability of Portuguese ocean management. Results show that environmental references represent only a small account on the Diploma contents (c. 2% against c. 5% in the EU MSP Directive); main environmental topics addressed include environmental “monitoring” and “evaluation”, “environmental protection”, “sustainability”, and “good (environmental) status”; and the ecosystem-based approach is never referred to. In Portugal the same government entity has responsibility over the implementation of both MSP and the MSFD, and such an institutional framework is expected to promote sustainable maritime uses as well as a true coordination/communication between both processes. The Diploma enshrines several “unusual” aspects that may compromise environmental sustainability. Although the new Portuguese MSP Diploma has been recently approved and promulgated, it may still be amended in the framework of a parliamentary discussion, therefore still having the opportunity to overcome the identified environmental challenges/concerns.

Genesis of Public Broadcaster in Post-Soviet Society. Lithuanian Case

The goal of the research was to analyse the development of the idea of the public service broadcasting (PSB) in Lithuania as one of Post-Soviet countries that restored its independence in 1990. The Lithuanian case serves in revealing the great variety of ways to interpret the idea of the PSB, the possibilities to manipulate various notions, and the way the fate of the PSB can be affected by politicians and competing business groups. In this research we distinguished the following stages of the PSB concept formation in Lithuania: the first debates (the development of legislative basis), and attempts of influence – the so-called depoliticisation, decommercialisation, and optimization. In order to achieve it, we analysed the Lithuanian legislation and its amendments, parliamentary discussions, and press publications. We also compared the Lithuanian PSB concept with the Western perception. It was concluded that despite of the official declarations about further limiting the interference with the national service broadcaster, there actually were the attempts of influence and politicisation. Politicisation by depoliticising. In pursuit of changing the Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) management the procedure of LRT Council formation was changed in 1996-1997: representatives were delegated by 15 creative and public organisations. The principles of public organisations selection have been criticised. Politicisation by de-commercialising. In 2000-2002, the LRT was criticised because of its commercialisation and non-performance of its mission. It was intended to develop a special funding system whereby the LRT should submit the Seimas with a funding plan and evidences justifying that the anticipated programmes are in compliance with the national mission. Introduction of such amendments could pose a risk of direct political interference with the LRT management and formation of the programme content. Politicisation by optimising. In 2009-2010 the attempts were made to radically reform the LRT management. The criticism related to linkage of the LRT Council members mandate with the political calendar, possibility of recalling the Council members by the delegating institutions and organisations, and the right of the Seimas Committee to approve or reject the strategy of the LRT programming. In 2014, a new financing model of the LRT has been developed, following which the LRT in 2015 discontinued broadcasting the commercial ads (except for certain established cases). The LRT financing is known in advance and calculated on the basis of the budget revenue and excise duty collection results of a preceding calendar year.

Physician-Assisted Dying: Acceptance by Physicians Only for Patients Close to Death.

This study reports on German physicians’ views on legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, comparing this with a similar survey of UK doctors. A questionnaire was handed out to attendants of a palliative care and a pain symposium. Complete answers were obtained from 137 physicians. Similar to the UK study, about 30% of the physicians surveyed support euthanasia in case of terminal illness and more support physician-assisted suicide. In contrast, in both countries, a great majority of physicians oppose medical involvement in hastening death in non-terminal illnesses. The public and parliamentary discussion should face this opposition to assisted suicide by pain and palliative specialists.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40122-014-0029-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

‘All elderly people have important service needs’: a study of discourses on older people in parliamentary discussions in Finland

ABSTRACTThis study examines discursive constructions of older people by analysing the talk of members of parliament in parliamentary discussions in Finland. While the perceptions of older people that are constructed in various public and private arenas have been relatively widely examined, the talk of political decision makers has not been studied to any large extent. However, decision makers' understandings of older people are likely to influence the ways in which service systems are developed and services organised for older people. The parliamentary discussions examined in this study were related to the process of enacting legislation to secure services for older people. Using discourse analysis, three ways of constructing older people – as ‘the dependent’, ‘the active’ and ‘the deserving’ – are identified. Although the results are to some extent in accordance with previous findings, indicating that older people are constructed as either totally dependent and passive or extremely active, this study also breaks this dichotomous view and highlights the overlap between those constructions. Nonetheless, the picture of older people remains fairly one-dimensional. There was an absence of recognition of diversity among older people, which might inhibit the development of a customer-oriented service system.

The concept of the Royal Prerogative in parliamentary debates on the deployment of military in the British House of Commons, 1982–2003

The article will discuss how one political key concept, the Royal Prerogative, was discussed in the British House of Commons in relation to the right to deploy and use armed troops abroad during the period 1982-2003, a time when the role of the British Parliament in decisions to deploy and commit troops to an armed conflict abroad was under extensive discussion in Parliament. This discussion began increasingly to address the state of the constitutional arrangements, more specifically the redefinition of the Royal Prerogative rights, the residual powers of the executive, as outdated in the understanding of modern representative democracy. The use of the concept was studied to reveal the attitudes towards the constitutional state of the country. However, the legal implications of the concept remained unchanged despite such criticism. The discussion on the role of Parliament consequently bypassed the concept and focused on the parliamentary convention defining the role of the House of Commons to emphasize a prior role instead of a retrospective role.