Parliament Research Articles

Early Warning System from the point of view of the administrative representatives of national parliaments in Brussels

Under Protocol No. 2 on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, national Parliaments have been granted participation in EU law-making through the Early Warning System (EWS). Within the framework of this mechanism, national chambers can evaluate EU legislative proposals on subsidiarity grounds, within an eight-week period, following their submission by the European Commission. The contribution of the National Parliaments Representatives at the European Parliament (or the liaison officers) is crucial for the national chambers to follow up on the Union agenda and participate in EU affairs. This study offers novel data that were collected through a questionnaire administered to the liaison officers in 2022. In brief, these transnational practitioners tend to express scepticism with regard to the EWS and its eventual reform, and at the same time, they would welcome an enhancement of the much broader “political dialogue” between the European Commission and national Parliaments.

Parliamentary Committees and Ex-post Oversight: Institutional Options and Design

Abstract Parliamentary oversight of executive power is a parliamentary system concern, considering weaker ex-post institutional oversight mechanisms and actor incentive challenges. Yet, institutional options are precondition for making parliamentary ex-post oversight work and this article investigates which type of options in fact exists within the vital committee system and how they are designed. The expectation is that ex-post oversight options depend on distributional power structures, being stronger for systems with traditions for minority compared to majority governments. For the design, the expectation is an institutional ‘efficient’ outcome in terms of ex-post oversight options being placed in a controlled central oversight committee, and that this applies regardless of government traditions. Empirically, focus is on the five most similar Nordic state parliamentary cases that vary in committee settings and in government traditions. For the investigation focus is on specific ex-post oversight options, the design of these options and overall de-facto use. The findings show a clear difference between the Scandinavian minority cases and the Icelandic and Finnish majority cases. For the design, most cases have ex-post oversight options designed for specific oversight committees, but where the Danish Folketing deviates by providing several options in different committees.

Book review - Claiming the City: A Global History of Workers' Fight for Municipal Socialism by Shelton Stromquist. 2023

Shelton Stromquist has written a long and very rich account of the international history of local socialist activism, often called municipal socialism. Drawing on various examples, Stromquist wants to shift the focus from national parliamentary politics and centrist narratives to the local level, where the labour movement was built. At a time when local struggles such as affordable housing are once again on the agenda of progressive activists, this book offers important insights into the early local history of labour politics and inspiration for contemporary activists and municipal socialists.

The Impossibility of Party Unity in Peru: Party Affiliation, Subnational Electoral Competition and Party Discipline (2011–2019)

Party division in Peru is a constant event and has become an expected feature of Peruvian parliamentary politics. For instance, in 2016, the elected Congress was composed of six parliamentary groups, and at the moment of its dissolution, that number doubled. This article explores the factors that produce such rapid division in the Peruvian Congress during two parliamentary periods (2011–2016, 2016–2019). It argues, through quantitative analysis, that there is a direct and negative relationship between the fragmentation of parliamentary groups and party discipline due to party affiliation and the dynamics of subnational party competition.

Routine Presidential Activism by Going Public under Semi-Presidential and Parliamentary Regimes

Presidential research commonly focuses on the most prominent cases of going public by presidents in semi-presidential regimes: such as expressing a lack of trust in the cabinet members. However, it is also important to understand the day-to-day functioning of semi-presidential republics and routine efforts by the presidents to insert themselves into government decisions. Moreover, presidents in parliamentary republics may also try to influence the government through the power of the public word. In this article, we conceptualize going public as an instance when a president weighs in on the performance of the cabinet and/or individual minister in the media. We analyze the focus and intensity of these instances in semi-presidential (Lithuania) and parliamentary (Latvia) regimes. Our main finding is that on average, presidents are more routinely active in public under semi-presidentialism. We also find that the intensity and focus of presidential attention on the cabinet are highly correlated to the media attention. Furthermore, presidents go public more often during the first year of their terms and pay more attention to foreign and defense policy than to other areas. Our results tend to support the presidency-centered arguments that emphasize the institutional prerogatives and political culture in the explanation of presidential activism.

Renewable energy, GDP and CO2 emissions in high-globalized countries

Introduction: Policymakers devote significant efforts to decrease CO2 emissions, as climate change has Q7 numerous adverse impacts on society. While the global level of CO2 emissions has been gradually rising since the 1990s, the highest growth was observed in low- and middle-income economies. This study differs from nascent research as it fills the gap by exploring the GDP-energy-CO2 emissions nexus for the top 50 highly globalized countries under analysis. Our study explores the multidimensional relationship between economic growth, renewable energy, globalization, and climate change, using CO2 emissions as a proxy for air pollution, and focusing on the most globalized countries.Methods: In this study, we rely on dynamic panel estimators such as the two-step system GMM estimator. System GMM estimator is recommended to use with the panel data when 1) the correlation between a dependent variable and its lag is above 0.8; and 2) the number of countries (i.e., 50 countries) exceeds the time frame (i.e., 19 years). As our study design fits these conditions, we use extension of a two-step system GMM estimator which restricts the expansion of instruments. Moreover, a two-step system GMM estimator is especially efficient as it controls for heteroskedasticity.Results: We find that renewable energy and globalization decrease CO2 emissions. If causal, a 1 percentage point increase in the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption leads to a 0.26% decrease in per capita CO2 emissions. Similarly, we find that a larger representation of women in national parliament contributes to the reduction in CO2 emissions. GDP per capita has an inverted U-shaped relationship with CO2 emissions and the turning point is approximately 67,200 international dollars adjusted for PPP.Discussion: Our results suggest that renewable energy significantly contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions while GDP per capita has an inverted U-shaped link with CO2 emissions. Thus, we confirm the presence of the EKC hypothesis for highly-globalized countries. Consequently, our study offers several policy implications. Firstly, it is important for developing countries to increase the share of energy consumed from renewable energy sources. This will have a positive effect not only on air quality, but also on economic growth. Thus, it is essential to increase investment in the renewable energy sector and create conditions and benefits for the rapid adoption of renewable technologies by the private sector and households. Secondly, it is crucial to increase the quality of investment climate. Developing countries can significantly gain from globalization-driven FDI as this can lead to technology transfer, especially in the energy sector. Thirdly, our results suggest that improving female empowerment can significantly reduce the vulnerability to climate change. This can be achieved by increasing women’s human capital and investing in women-led organizations and communities.

The partisan foundations of parliamentary speech. How parliamentary party groups decide who gets to speak for them

This study examines how parliamentary party groups decide who speaks for them on specific issues in parliament. We build on three strands of the literature: the work on the institutional foundations of parliamentary speech; the literature on committee assignments in parliamentary systems which points to different rationales behind parliamentary specialisation and the division of labour; and the literature on issue competition. First, we expect that the party leadership will assign more speaking time on issues that parties ‘own’ to Members of Parliament (MPs) they favour. Second, we expect an informational rationale regarding the allocation of speaking time by which MPs speak on issues for which they have pre-existing expertise. Third, we expect MPs to speak on issues if they have ties to relevant constituencies outside parliament. We analyse a new data set of all speeches in the Dutch lower house between 1998–2017. The analyses point to the importance of two rationales in the allocation of speaking time: high-status MPs (reflected by their list positions) speak on issues that parties prioritise, and MPs speak on issues of which they have specialised knowledge. Our analyses shed important light on how parliamentary party groups (PPGs) function, specifically how they divide labour within their ranks.

Modulation of Democracy: Partisan Communication During and After Election Campaigns

AbstractIt is well known that politicians speak differently when campaigning. The shadow of elections may affect candidates' change in tone during campaigns. However, to date, we lack a systematic study of the changes in communication patterns between campaign and non-campaign periods. In this study, we examine the sentiment expressed in 4.3 million tweets posted by members of national parliaments in the EU27 from 2018 to 2020. Our results show that (1) the opposition, even populists and Eurosceptics, send more positive messages during campaigns, (2) parties trailing in the polls communicate more negatively, and (3) that the changes are similar in national and European elections. These findings show the need to look beyond campaign times to understand parties' appeals and highlight the promises of social media data to move beyond traditional analyses of manifestos and speeches.

Constitutional reform of 2020 reducing the number of members of Parliament in Italy: towards the rationalization of the parliamentary system?

The article aims to analize the nature and systemic implications of the constitutional reform carried out in the Italian Republic in 2020, which reduced the number of members of the chambers of parliament. It was the first revision of the Italian constitution since 2001 that was approved in a nationwide referendum, which was the condition for the entry into force of the amendment (two other constitutional revisions: from 2005 and 2016, were rejected in a referendum vote). The concept of rationalization of parliamentarism has been adopted as the leading theoretical reference in this text. The initial research question focused on to what extend the postulate of rationalization of the Italian parliamentarism was achieved by the way of undertaken initiatives to revise the constitutional order. The analyzes carried out allowed to formulate a proposal to explain the potential of rationalization of parliamentarism within the so-called partial reform in the face of failures in implementing comprehensive reforms.

Comparing and Contrasting Bicameralism in Britain and Pakistan: An Analysis

The parliamentary form of government is one of the systems to govern the states among many other systems that developed over the process of centuries, evolving from social contracts, customs to traditional linkages, reaching, finally, at modern state system. It can further be divided into single national parliament (Unicameral) and a system consisting of two houses (Bicameral). Having diverse systems of governance, every state is working to keep peace and stability and create a progressive society that can ultimately attain a better world to live in. Pakistan got its independence in 1947 and adopted the Westminster system of governance which Britain had attained after a process of centuries since the signing of Magna Carta on June 15, 1215. Pakistan has been in struggle since its inception for a viable system of governance starting from a constitution borrowed from the Government of India Act 1935 to its own constitution approved in 1973. It shifted from a unicameral system of government to a bicameral federal state system but still a lot more is required to attain a democratic form of government that can respond to the local challenges. Keeping the bicameral system of Britain in view, the present study is planned to compare it with that of Pakistan to create a better understanding of parliamentary system of both states.

The History and Impact of Women in the Parliament of Western Australia: From Golden Age to Disappointment

ABSTRACT Despite their significant contributions to parliament and the Western Australian community, the role of women in the WA public sphere has historically been overlooked due to cultural and structural prejudice. To remedy this erasure, this article assesses the body of scholarly work that has focused on women serving as members in the Parliament of WA. Finding that the literature identifies three phases of women’s engagement with the Parliament of WA, these phases can be periodised as follows: the first is the ‘age of individuals’ where a select few pioneering women entered the parliament due to a variety of historical specificities. The second we term the ‘age of Labor women’, as the literature widely acknowledges that the 1983 Burke government adopted affirmative action policies that saw a significant increase of women MPs hailing from the Labor Party. The third we label the ‘age of disappointment’, as the literature underscores the bipartisan deprioritising of women’s policy issues in the 1990s–2000s, alongside the existence of continuing barriers to gender equality in Australian parliamentary politics. Suggestions for further research are also identified, including the impact of neoliberalism on women’s representation, and the emergence of intersectionality as a key paradigm in women’s studies. .

Parliamentary Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation: Lessons from Comparative Experience

AbstractRecent years have seen an increase in the use of delegated legislation to implement major policy decisions in the UK. This has exacerbated the longstanding criticism that Westminster lacks sufficiently robust procedures for parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legislation. However, the UK is not the only country to use delegated legislation, or to face the challenge of ensuring it receives adequate parliamentary scrutiny. This article therefore places the UK system in wider context by comparing it to six other national parliaments. We highlight one comparative strength of the UK system, two weaknesses it shares with the other six cases, and one way in which the UK might learn lessons from elsewhere. Overall, our evidence suggests that no one country offers a clear template for more rigorous parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legislation. Successful reform of the UK's system is likely to require creative procedural innovation.

A systems perspective on national prioritisation of sustainable development goals: Insights from Australia

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires effective national initiatives and resource allocation. Yet, the simultaneous attainment of all goals is hindered by constraints such as limited budgets and resources, varied national priorities, and the intricate nature of the goals. As we approach 2030 and beyond, an urgent need for an effective, data-driven prioritisation system exists to optimise what can be accomplished. A considerable knowledge gap persists in identifying the priority areas that demand concentrated attention and how their improvement would propel overall sustainability goals. To bridge this gap, our study presents a prioritisation approach that identifies significant SDG indicators based on urgency and impact, utilising Benchmarking, Bivariate, and Network analysis. Furthermore, we introduce an innovative Impact Index (IMIN) to assess an indicator’s extensive effect on the SDG network. This system carries significant international relevance by establishing a robust framework to identify key, potent, and interconnected indicators. It supports decision-makers worldwide in comprehending their nation’s SDG performance and promotes efficient resource allocation. In the specific context of Australia, our analysis spotlights several impactful, yet underperforming SDG indicators. These include the protection of Freshwater, Terrestrial, and Mountain Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), the share of renewable energy and energy intensity level of primary energy, targeted research and development, gender equality in national parliaments, and carbon-efficient manufacturing, amongst others.

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

How Icelandic Is French Law? A Few Remarks about the Discovery and Usage of Icelandic Antiquities in French Legal Historiography during the Nineteenth Century

Macroeconomic Stability, Government Policies, and Financial Market Development: A Global Analysis of Transparent Governance, Anti-Monopoly Measures, and Legal Frameworks

This study explores the interplay between macroeconomic stability, government policies (transparency, anti-monopoly measures, legal frameworks), and financial market development. Drawing data from 125 countries over 11 years (2007-2017) with both parliamentary and presidential systems, various regression models are employed, including Ordinary Least Squares, Random and Fixed Effect Models. Prais-Winsten Regression addresses heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. Results show a strong positive correlation between macroeconomic stability and financial market development. Transparent governance, anti-monopoly measures, and robust legal frameworks contribute significantly to both stability and financial growth. Transparent governance notably enhances the relationship between macroeconomic stability and financial market development globally and in presidential systems, but not in parliamentary systems. Effective anti-monopoly policies play a notable role in parliamentary systems, while legal frameworks maintain a positive influence across all scenarios. These findings are valuable for policymakers, investors, and researchers, informing their decision-making processes.

INITIALIZATION OF CIVIC IDENTITY OF YOUTH IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The paper considers the signs of initialization of the civic identity of young Ukrainians, which give grounds to believe that the problems of its preservation and reproduction should be the focus of scientific discourse. Two different axes of civic identity have been identified, which is particularly relevant under conditions of black and white shades of russia's war against Ukraine: from congruence to disjuncture. It has been substantiated that young people build a civic identity from the available materials, and these materials are different for young people from different communities. Civic tendencies of young people are based on their everyday experience in certain social, economic, institutional, political and historical contexts. It has been proven that actors involved in the process of building a civic identity should develop practices encouraging young people to struggle with both congruence and the disjuncture they experience, and ensuring a more meaningful civic education that helps young people to construct critical but engaged civic identities. It has been found that civic identity is an incentive for active participation of citizens in public administration, strengthening social consolidation and supporting the stability of the country. The conditions for creating an enabling environment for young people to influence the decisions and policies that affect them have been studied. The need to implement the UN strategic priority – the "Generation Unlimited" motto – has been emphasized, and it has been shown that young people face stigma associated with their traits and impact on society. The stigma fuels policies that marginalize young people and call for safety measures against them, rather than promoting more favourable solutions that allow them to participate positively in the life of society. It has been substantiated that the participation of young people in public administration is also represented in their involvement in decision-making processes that influence their lives through school boards, student unions, youth clubs, national youth parliaments, regional and international youth forums and advisory councils of international organizations.

Cumhurbaşkanlığı Eğitim ve Öğretim Politikaları Kurulu ile Millî Eğitim Bakanlığının Politika Sürecindeki Rolleri

In the formation of sovereignty of states, there are three powers, namely legislative, executive and judicial. The positioning of these three forces and the creation of parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential government systems, known as democratic government systems, are among the important subjects of political science. The way to serve its citizens, which is one of the reasons for the existence of a state, is through public policies. Government systems are highly effective and decisive in the public policy process as well as in all areas of countries. Demands for a change in the government system, which have been going on for many years in Turkey, aimed to ensure political stability by eliminating the excessive dependence of the executive on the legislature brought by the parliamentary government system and the failures of the multi-part governments in the executive. With the official implementation of the Presidential Government System in Turkey as of 2018, the administrative structure of the executive was established with the Presidential Decree No. 1 on the Presidency Organization. The educational system within the process of education policies, the organizational structure, duties and powers of the Presidential Education and Training Policies Board and the Ministry of National Education in the context of the executive power are regulated in this Decree. In the process of education policies, the Presidency Education and Training Policies Board as the decision maker and the Ministry of National Education as the policy implementer have their presence as policy actors in the Presidential Government System. In this study, the effects and roles of the Presidential Education and Training Policies Board, which has the same duties and powers as the National Education Council, which is not included in the Decree on the Presidential Organization, in policy formulation and implementation are evaluated. In this study, which aims to reveal the roles of the Presidential Education and Training Policy Board and the Ministry of National Education in the policy process, the "document review" method was used. Keywords: Presidential Government System, Public Administration, Public Policies, Education Policies, Education and Training Policy Board, Ministry of National Education, National Education Council.

The parliamentary politics of the rule of law crisis in the EU

ABSTRACT This article studies the positions of political parties around the rule of law crisis in the European Union (EU). What factors explain their position in this crisis? The theoretical expectations focus on populism and government status as the drivers of party positions towards a Member State violating the rule of law. This article assesses these expectations through a comparative case study of the actions of different EU political parties during the first term of the Law and Justice government in Poland (2015–2019). The article examines the relevant documents such as debates and resolutions of parliaments within the EU. It concludes that populist parties are more likely to support the Law and Justice party than mainstream parties, and that parties in government are less likely to challenge Law and Justice than opposition parties. These findings provide important insights into the dynamics of parties’ positioning on the rule of law crisis.

Političko liderstvo i očuvanje nacionalnih prioriteta (na primjeru Generala Primo de Rivera)

Spain did not take part in the First World War (1914-1918), but its political consequences were reflected in the subsequent crisis that gripped the entire Spanish society. The post-war economic crisis led to an increase in social tension (emergence of inflationary processes, reduction in the supply of basic necessities, low wage growth) and to the strengthening of nationalism. The economic crisis further exacerbates social conflicts and disrupts the social structure of society. The problem in Morocco is also contributing to the country's financial deficit and exacerbating existing problems. Added to this was the political instability and ministerial crises of the period 1917-1923. The constitutional monarchy made efforts to maintain the status quo, but internal and external conflicts strongly affected the stability of the institution. General elections were held four times and eleven different governments were formed. It is the crisis of the parliamentary system that creates opportunities for changes in the Spanish political system. All this leads the country to a political impasse, which the military in the person of General Primo de Rivera takes advantage of. The intervention of the army in the political life of Spain is an attempt to resolve the conflicts among the rulers, but the crisis deepens not only in Parliament, but also in society. Constant contradictions give rise to hatred of politics. The army takes the responsibility (thus the king hides from the responsibility) of rearranging the political system or building a new one and meets the approval of the majority of the society, which is ready for political reorganization. The conditions in the country are ready for a coup, the main actors are needed who will go down in history and who will take advantage of the situation to take power. The man who takes a tougher stance, as well as the challenge of running the country after a series of failed governments, is General Primo de Rivera. He established a dictatorship and ruled Spain from 1923-1930. The coup was carried out on the 13th of September 1923. Then General Primo de Rivera issued a Manifesto, which was an address to the army and society and marked the main responsibilities and commitments that were undertaken for implementation. The civilian government of the dictatorship began an active economic and social policy. It was largely successful and coincided with the worldwide economic boom of the mid-1920s. Reforms were also undertaken in the social, educational and military systems. Changes are taking place in both political and ecclesiastical life. Attempts are being made to resolve the regional problem and the existing situation in Morocco. There are also innovations in relations with the republics of Latin America. In view of later historical developments, it is clear that this regime could not have lasted long, but in a sense it became the basis of the subsequent “new state” regime after 1939. The time frame of the two dictatorships is long enough and the parallels and the events are different, but some ideas, institutions and even politicians in power in 1939 inherited the dictatorial years of 1923-1930. This coincides with the transformations that occurred in many European countries after the end of the First World War. The administration of General Primo de Rivera left an imprint on the historical development of Spain and served as an example for many European countries, including the Balkans.

The presidential ‘accordion’ plays for us all

ABSTRACT More than any other president of a contemporary parliamentary democracy, the Italian head of state has played a significant political role. Indeed, since the transformation of the Italian party system in 1992–3 and especially in times of economic crisis or political turmoil, Italian presidents have actively intervened in a significant way to safeguard the Constitution and improve the working of the Italian political system. In this context, the ‘extended presidency’ of Sergio Mattarella, originally elected in 2015 and then re-elected for a second, exceptional term in 2022, is no exception to the rule. As a matter of fact, the re-election of Mattarella (after the – at the time unprecedented – re-election of Giorgio Napolitano in 2013) has not only strengthened the role of the head of state vis-à-vis other political institutions and even more so the political parties, but it has even raised a number of questions concerning the very nature of Italy’s parliamentary regime. Against this backdrop, this article analyses, from different analytical perspectives, the evolving role of the president of the Republic within the changing Italian political system by taking into consideration presidents’ relationships – not always smooth – with the political parties, their atypical style of political communication (both online and offline), their exercise of executive power and, finally, their peculiar contribution to that process of more or less covert presidentialisation that has characterized Italian politics since the early 1990s.