Parliamentary Leadership Research Articles

Socio-Eco Packages and Environmental Factors – An Analysis from Balochistan

This study examines the impact of the Socio-Economic packages announced over the past two decades for Balochistan by the Federal Government / State on Political, Social, Economic, Security, and other environmental factors, predicting the future of the province. It adopts a qualitative research design with a historical, descriptive approach using interview-based primary data collection along with the study of published and unpublished documents of government and private sources. Since the rise of President Gen (R) Pervaiz Musharaf to the premier office of Pakistan, the Federal Government undertook five ventures to support Balochistan on its way to progress. However, mismanagement and bad governance failed the very spirit of the initiatives, and the results couldn’t be achieved. The findings of the study conclude that the announcement of socio-eco packages would have proved to be beneficial towards achieving specific goals set if the welfare and development schemes had been carried out and monitored through agencies/intermediaries other than the local political or parliamentary leadership. Environmental factors, especially political factors, are directly impacted by the implementation of these packages. This study presented its analyses by interviewing the people linked with academia and the administration only owing to time constraints. However, future research should include the views of other groups directly or indirectly linked with the prevailing situation in the province, thus addressing the limitations of the present study.

Adverse Contagion? Populist Radical Right Parties and Norms on Gender Balance in Political Institutions

How do male-dominated populist radical right (PRR) parties relate to and influence norms around women’s political inclusion and leadership in mainstream political parties? While research has focused on describing the male dominance of PRR parties or its influence on mainstream political parties’ policies, particularly immigration, we know less about how PRR parties relate to norms on women’s inclusion or gender-balanced representation in mainstream parties. In a theory-building effort, we posit that PRR parties may seek to (a) adapt to mainstream parties’ norms and include more women in leading positions (positive contagion) or (b) negatively affect or even challenge norms around women’s inclusion in mainstream parties (adverse contagion). Seeking to theorize this relationship further, we explore leadership selection in the Swedish Parliament, where gender balance constitutes a strong norm. Yet, following the 2022 elections, the proportion of women parliamentary leaders dipped below 30% for the first time in decades. At the same time, the Sweden Democrats, a male-dominated PRR party, emerged as the second-largest party in Parliament. Drawing on interviews with nomination committees, party documents, and data on leadership, we empirically investigate continuity and change in committee leadership appointments in the Swedish Parliament and the role of the radical right in this process. We do not find signs of adverse contagion in the short run: as of 2023, norms promoting gender balance appear to remain robust and enjoy widespread support among mainstream parties. Yet, neither do we find signs of positive contagion where the radical right adapts to mainstream norms around gender balance.

Indigenous Internationalism and the Art of Recognition: A Soviet Trace on a Global Stage

ABSTRACT This article explores the contributions of Soviet writers to global discourses of Indigenous rights. The author focuses on the work of three writers, Yeremei Aipin (Khanty, b. 1948), Vladimir Sangi (Nivkh, b. 1935), and Yury Vella (Nenets, 1948–2013), as they entered into transnational Indigenous movements and navigated a rapidly changing political landscape in the final years of the Soviet Union. The author argues that they engaged in a complex “art of recognition,” working across genres and modalities in order to reckon with legacies of colonialism and usher in new visions of identity and political sovereignty. This approach highlights the Soviet Union as a locus for international congresses and solidarity movements, such as the Nevada-Semipalatinsk Antinuclear Movement, the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders, and the 1990 Sacred Run for Land and Life, led by American Indian Movement cofounder Dennis Banks. Ultimately, an Indigenous-centered approach to the end of the Cold War provides a counterbalance to prevailing narratives of this era, which cast the ascendance of a Western-dominated capitalist world order as an inevitable conclusion.

Analyzing gender equality in the US and Indonesian parliaments through liberal feminism theory

Gender inequality is a persistent issue experienced by women worldwide, often intertwined with their limited participation in political spheres. This study examines the political involvement of women in the parliaments of Indonesia and the United States of America (USA) through the lens of liberal feminism theory. Employing qualitative decryption approaches with a comparative study design, data collected from both the Indonesian Parliament and the USA Parliament were understood, recorded, phrased, compared and analyzed within the framework of liberal feminism theory, focusing on the "Right in Public Life and Politics". The results of the study revealed that while the Government of Indonesia has enacted legislation mandating a minimum of 30% female representation in political parties, both the Indonesian and US parliaments exhibit disproportionately low levels of female members compared to their male counterparts. A notable distinction between the two lies in the parliamentary leadership, with Indonesia being led by a woman and the USA by men. To enhance women's political participation, it is imperative for both governments to rigorously enforce regulations and sanctions against political parties. Additionally, efforts to dismantle the prevailing masculine culture in various societies are crucial in order to foster gender equality and justice, thereby realizing gender democracy.

Leaders’ desires to lead: progressive ambition and norms around gender balance in the Swedish parliament

ABSTRACT While women citizens have less political ambition than similarly situated men across a wide range of contexts, we know less about gender differences in progressive ambition – elected politicians’ desire to achieve political leadership positions. This study analyzes leadership ambition among Swedish legislators. To understand the relationship between progressive ambition and the proportion of men and women in leadership positions, the political-institutional context is paramount. The gender-equal context of the Swedish Parliament allows us to investigate the relationship between progressive political ambition and informal rules, norms, and practices that promote the presence of women in political leadership. Drawing on interviews with nearly all top parliamentary leaders and party gatekeepers as well as a survey with MPs, we find that women leaders and MPs are less interested in political leadership in comparison to men. We describe the rules, norms, and practices that stipulate gender balance in decision-making in this context and show how gender-equitable informal institutions have contributed to creating gender balance in leadership. While such institutions have not closed the gender ambition gap at the individual level, they mitigate its consequences by incentivizing less ambitious women to accept leadership positions and prompting gatekeepers to search for and persuade competent women.

POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE REPRESENTATIVE POWER OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Political leadership in the modern world is becoming increasingly relevant against the backdrop of new challenges that require a quick and effective response on the part of politicians as representatives of particular political institutions. As a matter of tradition, parliaments are collegial bodies, in contrast to the institution of the president, which possesses sole decision-making power. However, representative bodies of power have the right to adopt laws that define the principles of life in the country and society. Parliamentary leaders play a crucial role in drafting and adopting bills, which requires studying this phenomenon. The purpose of the academic paper is to analyze parliamentary leadership as a significant element of representative democracy. The research methodology is based on a combination of three key approaches that allow analyzing political leadership – the theory of traits, behavioral and situational theories. The main research methods are as follows: analysis of documents, secondary analysis of sociological data, the case study method, and general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, deduction, generalization, and classification). Representative democracy has been undergoing a process of transformation due to the challenges of postmodernity.

Региональный парламентаризм в условиях глобальных вызовов и неопределенности: опыт и уроки

This scientific and practical article has been prepared in order to summarize the experience of the Legislative Duma of the Khabarovsk Territory in the period of 2019–2024. The work describes the specifics of the process of formation of the dynamic regional parliament, external factors of the Duma's activities, legislative results, the contribution of the deputies of the seventh convocation to the development of the forms of parliamentary activity and parliamentary communications. The alteration of the majority faction in the Legislative Duma of the Territory in 2019 has been justified by the high demand of citizens for social changes and the requirement to reduce the distance of power. The leading external conditions of the Duma's work are characterized by pandemic shock, socio-political instability and protest phenomena in the region, constitutional changes in public authority, a special military operation and its goals. The results of the work of the deputies of the seventh convocation are the following: initiation and adoption of constituent and basic laws of the region, development of a variety of forms of the Duma's work, active communications including the Internet space, contribution to parliamentary diplomacy. The following lessons have been induced from the experience of the regional parliament: the lesson of a far-sighted attitude to parliamentary leadership; the lesson of long-term party work based on the principles of succession of generations; the lesson of flexible and socially dynamic lawmaking and parliamentary control; the lesson of openness and broad communication of the deputy team. The article is addressed to researchers and practitioners in the field of regional public administration, aimed at disseminating the experience of parliamentary management in conditions of change and high uncertainty.

‘New politics’, crisis effects and format effects: A comparative study of hostility and positivity in exchanges between leaders during UK Prime Minister’s questions and Scottish and Welsh First Minister’s questions

Existing research on party leader questioning in legislatures usually focuses on single case studies, less-than-ideal behaviours across leaders, and often post-election periods. Our article compares hostility and positivity in behaviours across three parliaments and, because of the COVID-19 crisis, across different time periods and modes of operation (live, hybrid, and online) while controlling for the same leaders. Using content analysis at the sentence level (N = 3554), our data contrast parliamentary leader hostility and positivity levels in the UK, Scottish, and Welsh Parliaments across three time periods: pre-COVID-19, initial, and lockdown COVID-19. Findings for positivity are mixed, but for hostility, we find that while the initial shock of the COVID-19 crisis suppressed hostility, Westminster has higher ratios of hostility across all three time periods, and that format of operation has little effect on behaviour. Findings suggest less hostility in Scotland and Wales than in Westminster adding possible weight to ‘new politics’ arguments.

An Analysis of the Position of Speaker in Lok Sabha in India from 1952 to 2020 withSpecial Reference to the Position of Speaker of House of Representatives in the United States

The Speaker of Lok Sabha in India is regarded as the most important office of legislative functioning. The office of the Speaker is regarded with high esteem and respect in the Parliament. The election of the Lok Sabha Speaker in India carries with it a unanimous trust of different parties in one chair. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is regarded as the presiding officer of the popular chamber there. The Speaker is simultaneously House’s presiding officer and the institution’s administrative head but he/she is also the parliamentary leader of the House of Representatives. This article attempts to understand the election and overall working of the Speaker’s office. This article further explores judicial intervention in the Speaker’s office in India in comparison with its counterpart in the USA.

Feminine Leadership Ideals and Masculine Practices: Exploring Gendered Leadership Conditions in the Swedish Parliament

AbstractWomen’s access to political leadership positions has increased greatly in recent decades, which calls for research concerning the conditions of women’s political leadership in more gender-balanced contexts. This article responds to this need by exploring the leadership ideals, evaluations, and treatment of men and women leaders in the numerically gender-equal Swedish parliament (the Riksdag). Drawing on interviews with almost all the current top political leaders in the Swedish parliament, along with an original survey of Swedish members of parliament, we reveal a mainly feminine-coded parliamentary leadership ideal that should be more appropriate for women leaders. Masculine practices remain, however, and women leaders continue to be disadvantaged. To explain this anomaly between ideals and practices, we argue that a feminist institutionalist perspective, which emphasizes how gender shapes a given context in multiple ways, contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the conditions for women’s political leadership than that provided by the widely employed role congruity theory.

Foxes and Hedgehogs in Legislatures: Why Do Some MPs Become Policy Specialists and Others Generalists?

AbstractWhich legislators become specialized in particular policy areas (hedgehogs), and which develop into policy generalists (foxes)? Instead of focusing on the individual characteristics of MPs, we build on institutionalist literature and argue that an MP's specialization arises from an interaction between MP and parliamentary leadership. These interactions generate demand for policy generalists depending on a leadership position, committee membership, government status, and parliamentary group size. Policy specialization is measured by how many different topics a legislator addresses in Parliament. Using data from Germany from 1998 to 2013, topic‐coded parliamentary questions are combined with MPs' personal and partisan data. Descriptively, foxes are common in Germany and dominate in Parliament. The subsequent estimation indicates that policy specialists are related to government status and parliamentary group size.

War and peace within the Israeli Right (1970 - 1978): the path of a Hawkish party towards pragmatism

ABSTRACT Right-wing ethno-nationalist parties are conceived of as upholders of rigid foreign policy positions. But in what instances might a hawkish party pursue a peace-promoting policy? The present article seeks to examine this question through the case study of the hawkish-nationalist Right in Israel during the 1970s, which eventually led its leader Menachem Begin to sign a peace agreement with Egypt, entailing a commitment to a full Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and the evacuation of the Jewish settlements established in the area. The article examines the process which paradoxically led such right-wing hawkish leadership to signing—with determination and contrary to public expectations—an unprecedented political agreement in the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Contrary to the Israeli Right historiography which has, hitherto, focused on Menachem Begin’s persona and on his role in the political process—the article emphasizes those broad historical processes eclipsed by the limelight cast on its leader, underscoring the peace discourse evolving within the Israeli right political network, from party activists and supporters to parliamentary leadership. Rather than a personal initiative opposing his network’s policy—as considered in academic discourse—Begin’s peace project followed the exhortations of his political matrix.

Legislating for change: gender-sensitive ex-ante legislative scrutiny in practice

ABSTRACT The law is a fundamental arena for advancing gender equality. Parliaments are where laws are made, but differential gender impacts are often not explored when draft legislation is scrutinised. A range of tools exist to help parliamentarians conduct gender-sensitive ex-ante legislative scrutiny but their success relies on parliamentary institutionalisation, localisation of measures, political will and parliamentary leadership, access to evidence and expertise, practical tools, its application to all laws, men, and government practice. Blind spots and weaknesses include intersectionality, the role of empathy in representation, a holistic approach to the whole legislative cycle, and linking to international obligations.

Inter-Parliamentary Union: A model in Parliamentary Leadership

Democracy remains the most sought after form of governance globally. The article assesses how the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has fostered democracy, human rights, and the inclusion of women in governance through providing support to national parliaments. The article explains the structure, objectives, and achievements that IPU has advanced to encourage global peace and democracy. IPU recognizes that parliament is a vital agency of democracy because it checks excesses of the government, formulates policies, and represents the public in government decision making. IPU pushes these individual parliaments to enact progressive policies to provide political opportunities for youth and women to ensure equitable representation. Its efforts have contributed to significant global gains and parliamentary leadership in nations across the globe.

Beyond Merkel – East Germans’ Recruitment to Leadership Positions in the German Bundestag

ABSTRACT The representation of East Germans in elite positions has been a broadly debated topic. Most studies show that, comparative to other elite sectors, East Germans are best represented in politics. However, in some areas of the political sector, like the federal government, we find very few East Germans, despite Angela Merkel’s chancellorship. This paper looks at East German representation in parliamentary leadership positions. It finds East Germans remain underrepresented in these positions, especially outside of The Left. It explores three explanatory approaches: (1) there are not enough East Germans in the recruitment pool, (2) East German members lack the desired qualifications and (3) the leadership recruitment process is biased against East Germans. Using statistical analysis based on a biographical dataset including all MPs from the 13th to the 18th legislative period, it finds that both low East German membership in the Bundestag and the existence of a bias lead to underrepresentation of East Germans in those positions. While The Left tries to strongly represent East German interests by recruiting them into leadership positions, East Germans’ access to these positions in all other party parliamentary groups remains low. This has negative effects on the substantive representation of East Germans and on their trust in representative democracy.

What Determines Parties’ Choice of Incumbent-Renomination Methods? the Case of the UK Labour Party, 1979–2019

ABSTRACT The UK Labour Party changed its incumbent-renomination process six times between 1979 and 2019. Using Labour as an influential case, I propose a two-part theory explaining parties’ choice of incumbent-renomination methods: who controls the party, and whether they believe MPs are bound by dictates of the parliamentary leadership or the extra-parliamentary party. Renomination is central to intra-party candidate selection affecting the functioning of parties, legislatures, governments and oppositions. Findings expand our understanding of intra-party organisational dynamics and incumbent-renomination processes.

ELUSIVE QUEST BY WOMEN FOR LEGISLATIVE NUMBERS IN KENYA’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 11TH PARLIAMENT (2013 -2017)

Purpose: Application of gender quotas in the 2013 general elections in Kenya led to 68 women legislators joining the National Assembly. This was the largest number of women elected to the legislature since independence in 1963. Studies show that such surges embolden women to pursue legislative agenda on gender equality and social welfare issues. This article examines women legislators’ quests for further increased numbers in Kenya’s National Assembly 2013 -2017 and the results. 
 Methodology: This was a descriptive study of Kenya’s National Assembly of the 11th parliament (2013 -2017). A total of 11 women and four key informants were identified through stratified and purposive sampling respectively. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules. Responses were recorded in writing and audio-tape. The study also did a content analysis of the Hansard. Data was transcribed, manually processed, analysed and discussed under each study objective. Quantitative data was captured in tables with descriptions while qualitative data was narrated with inferences.
 Findings: The study established that efforts to increase women’s numbers in the legislature were unsuccessful because of resistance from male colleagues. However, women achieved an increase in committee membership and leadership. The article concludes that resistance to the proposed affirmative law to increase women’s legislative numbers was rooted in patriarchy and male entitlement to power.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The article demonstrates how the quest to embed affirmative action in law was frustrated by patriarchy. It states that for women to succeed on such pursuits, they need to be assertive and strategic. It further demonstrates that women’s occupation of parliamentary leadership positions enabled them to showcase their abilities and debunk the notion that they are inferior. This coheres with liberal feminism, that marginalising women denies the society the benefit of their talents. The article proposes that women should seek influential parliamentary committees instead of seeking a general spread in all of them. A constitutional amendment to have an unequivocal provision on elections that automates the desired proportions of women to men in the National Assembly is also recommended.

METHODS USED BY WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATIVE PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES IN KENYA’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE 11TH PARLIAMENT (2013 -2017)

Purpose: The study examined the legislative influence of women in the context of gender quotas in Kenya’s National Assembly of the 11th parliament (2013-207). This article focuses on the methods women parliamentarians used to assert legislative influence.
 Methodology: This was a descriptive case study which focused on all 68 women in the National Assembly. Respondents were identified through stratified sampling based on: pathway to parliament; membership and leadership of parliamentary structures; contribution to debate; and sponsorship of Bills enacted. A total of 11 women were interviewed, derived from four of the seven parliamentary political parties, specifically the two largest political coalitions which contributed 94% of the legislature. The study also interviewed four purposively sampled key informants (KIs) - three male and one female. The data was processed manually, analysed and presented under each study objective. Sources of primary data were coded as follows: WL (Woman Legislator), ML (Male Legislator) and KI (Key Informant). All respondents were allocated specific numbers for identification and acknowledgement. 
 Findings: The study established that women legislators used the following methods to influence legislation: mobilisation of male colleagues; solidarity across political parties; activism; leveraging committee positions; reliance on the National Assembly leadership; and compromise and conciliation. It notes that the methods were effective in some circumstances but failed in others.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study outlines how various methods were applied by women legislators in Kenya’s National Assembly 2013-2017, the first time quotas were applied in Kenyan elections. It fills the gap in earlier studies that did not document these methods. The study notes that the methods were not intrinsically weak but their effectiveness was limited by circumstances, especially the attitude of male legislators. It illustrates the importance of diversifying approaches to influence legislation. The study recommends that women legislators should: work with supportive male legislators and other pressure groups in the legislature; introduce Bills early in the legislative calendar to improve chances of success; receive training on parliamentary work; and occupy influential parliamentary leadership positions.

Parlamente in der Pandemie: Erste Erkenntnisse aus einem international vergleichenden Forschungsvorhaben

During the pandemic, parliaments around the globe suffered a “double shock”: They had to adjust to the challenges of the infectious disease and uphold or (re-)establish their roles with regard to the executive . A closer investigation of 27 parliaments in different political systems gives a first in-depth comparative account for their initial reactions to the crisis . It is based on information from an ongoing collaboration of experts on parliaments and builds on a model of historical institutionalism . In some countries significant measures were taken, including restricting participation in parliamentary proceedings and moving some of them online . Committees served as a field of experimentation for digitalizing par­liaments . While only in a few countries legislative activities were strongly dominated by the pandemic, in most countries continuity across policy areas prevailed . More variety can be seen in institutional changes for parliamentary oversight . Communication activities intensi­fied with the pandemic, particularly from parliamentary leadership . These first results indi­cate that parliaments and established parliamentary democracies, in particular, were able to perform their functions despite unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandem­ic .

What Was Parliamentary Reporting? A Study of Aims and Results in the London Daily Newspapers, 1780–96*

AbstractThe nature of these newspaper reports – that is, the character of their principal content – has never been studied, despite its obvious importance and, as we shall see, its marked differences from our Hansard. This article relates their nature to a vital feature of parliamentary leadership, the ability to lead the argument in debate. The practical reasoning in parliamentary deliberation and justification, especially what speakers contributed towards the outcome or ‘the sense of the debate’, predominated in these reports. This implied a need for reporters to concentrate on the ‘substance’ of speeches and their bearing on the motion. One result was that speeches which were judged to define or develop arguments pro and con were treated at length, the defining speeches most extensively and others in proportion to what they added. Conversely, speeches which reiterated known positions or which were irrelevant to the arguments in hand were omitted or downplayed, even if they were important in some other way, while whole debates which added little to ongoing discussion could be treated quite briefly. But if being a front bencher did not guarantee coverage, being a back bencher was no bar: the criterion was the importance of a speaker's contribution, while the manner of coverage accented what was contributed. The reporters’ concerns emphasized debates that promised significant change in matters of national importance, but gave relatively little attention to recurrent or localised business as such. Their writing – they were known as debate writers or news‐writers – was interpretation answering to evaluative and selective criteria rather than a record in a simple sense. Their work is not to be understood in the same terms as a modern Hansard, and in particular not as a defective Hansard, but rather is such that it requires further work on a wide range of new research questions if it is to be understood to best effect, a requirement which suggests a need to study it critically before using it as source material.