{"title":"Do Anti-Elitist Parties Use Their Parliamentary Tools Differently?","authors":"S. Otjes, Tom Louwerse","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB027","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Populist parties have become an important factor in opposition politics all over Europe. While we know a lot about the behaviour of populist parties in the electoral arena and even in the governmental arena, we know surprisingly little about their behaviour in parliament. This article studies the behaviour of populist opposition parties in parliament. We hypothesise that it is the anti-elitism of populism that is the ‘active’ element that shapes their parliamentary behaviour. Anti-elitist parties are more likely to be ‘responsive’ parties, using parliament as a bully pulpit to amplify citizens’ objections to policy and less likely to be ‘responsible’ parties, using the legislature as a place to find support for policy alternatives. We hypothesise anti-elitist parties to use parliamentary scrutiny tools more often than other parties. We make use of recently collected cross-national data on parliamentary behaviour in seven European democracies to test this hypothesis. Our results indicate that parties that have been characterised as anti-elitist tend to vote more against legislation, but they do not ask more parliamentary questions.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44258265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Parliamentary Representation in Six European Right-Wing Sovereignist Parties: Resemblance or Innovation?","authors":"R. Borri, Luca Verzichelli","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB026","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The appeal to the re-appropriation of national sovereignty has recently become the unifying trait of a heterogeneous group of right-wing parties. The underlying reasoning behind this claim is that globalised elites ignore the needs of the people—defined as a restricted and ethnically homogeneous group of natives—they are supposed to represent. After defining the perimeter of this party cluster, including populist, national conservatives and extreme-right parties, this article explores the extent to which the adoption of similar political platforms might also be reflected in a convergence of parliamentary party articulations. A qualitative account of the evolution of parliamentary representation in a few right-wing parties from Italy, Hungary and the Netherlands shows that a two-way street of institutionalisation might be at play in the complex balance between uncompromising grassroots components and a more pragmatic institutional component.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB026","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47584297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elisabetta De Giorgi, António Dias, Branislav Dolný
{"title":"New Challenger Parties in Opposition: Isolation or Cooperation?","authors":"Elisabetta De Giorgi, António Dias, Branislav Dolný","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB025","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The context of European parties has been through a process of significant transformation in recent years, with the fall of traditional mainstream parties and the rise of challenger parties. Despite their significant differences, mainly at the ideological level, we argue that challenger parties share some common characteristics when they first enter parliament. Namely, we expect them to employ a similar strategy as regards their relationship with the other party actors and to attempt to send the same message to their electorate: that they represent the alternative to existing parties, be it in government or in opposition, and will behave accordingly in parliament. We test our expectations by analysing and comparing the cooperation attitudes of challenger parties vis-à-vis the other opposition parties, using legislative co-sponsorship during their first term in parliament as an indicator and Social Network Analysis as a method.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49027822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Long Hours, Uneasy Feelings: Parliamentary Work in Denmark, Finland and Sweden","authors":"Mona Mannevuo, Jenni M Rinne, Isak Vento","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB022","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Politicians’ work pressure is gaining more attention in parliamentary studies. To participate in the discussion about governing under pressure, this article offers an interdisciplinary approach to investigate how representatives navigate within a flexible, limitless work culture. This article presents a new inquiry to re-examine contemporary political agency by combining cultural studies theories with empirical insights in Nordic countries. By analysing 52 semi-structured interviews with MPs in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the study finds that politics attracts people who want to change the world, but these attributes may initiate a vicious cycle, taking the form of psychological strain.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44823569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vandenberg Vanished: US Congress and the Politicisation of Military Interventions","authors":"Florian Böller","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB023","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article examines the extent and patterns of politicisation in the field of military interventions for the USA after the end of the Cold War. The analysis shows that key votes on war and peace in the US Congress are contested to a higher degree than in the European parliaments. It finds that Republican members of Congress (MoC) are in general more supportive of military interventions than Democrats. At the same time, party loyalty towards the president influences the level of support. Furthermore, an original content analysis of congressional debates reveals that MoC use specific argumentative frames in line with partisan ideology. Both parts of the analysis point to the relevance of partisanship and partisan ideology for understanding the politicisation of military interventions policies. Thus, the traditional bipartisan spirit, paradigmatically invoked by US Senator Arthur Vandenberg during the Cold War, has almost vanished.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB023","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42951359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Party Whips and Expertise: Explaining Committee Switching in the Scottish Parliament","authors":"Jeremy Cairney, Sergiu Gherghina","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAA066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAA066","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Committee work lies at the core of parliamentary activities in established representative democracies. While extensive literature refers to committee activity, there is limited research on committee switching. This article seeks to address this gap and aims to explain what drives Members of the Scottish Parliament to switch committees. It focuses on the fifth session (since 2016) in which committee switching is frequent. The qualitative analysis uses semi-structured interviews conducted with committee switchers in January–February 2020. Findings illustrate that the main drivers for committee switching are a combination of organisational constraints and individual motivations. Among these, key determinants are party control and the legislators’ expertise and interest in the subject.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAA066","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43316215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring Responses to the Collapse of Devolution in Northern Ireland 2017–2020 through the Lens of Multi-Level Governance","authors":"D. Heenan, D. Birrell","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB013","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The system of devolution set up in Northern Ireland in 1999 has proved volatile and unstable. In 2017, the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed, following the resignation of the Sinn Féin, deputy First Minister. For a three-year period, Executive and legislative devolution ceased to operate. The UK Government opted not to impose Direct Rule from Westminster, as happened previously. This article examines the consequences of the absence of a devolved government in the context of the existing system of multi-level governance (MLG). It is contended that mitigating action taken or considered to address the gap in governance can be best understood using an analytical framework drawn from the lens of MLG. A range of interventions, adjustments and interactions occurred involving the remaining levels of MLG. Despite the fall of the Executive and Assembly an amended form of governance continued to function in Northern Ireland.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45538226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Confrontational but Respecting the Rules: The Minor Impact of the Finns Party on Legislative–Executive Relations","authors":"Corentin Poyet, Tapio Raunio","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB010","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Having achieved a major breakthrough in the 2011 elections, the Finns Party remained in opposition but joined the governing coalition from 2015 until 2017 when the party suffered a serious internal split. This article shows that the overall impact of the populists on parliamentary procedures and culture has been modest. The Finns Party has adjusted to the strongly institutionalised parliamentary norms and it has not contested the existing patterns of legislative–executive relations. The populists have brought more confrontational elements to the debates but seem content operating within the established institutional constraints. Content analysis of oral and written questions shows the internal diversity of the party.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44172796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do Coalition Governments with Populist Parties Attempt to Rationalise Law-Making in Parliaments? Evidence from the Czech Chamber of Deputies","authors":"Robert Zbíral","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB011","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Populism might be a threat to parliamentary democracy but does not automatically signal its demise. First, not all populist parties seek illiberal goals. Second, in Europe most populist parties entering governments have done so as coalitions with mainstream parties. Yet, almost all populists, including the non-extremist and ‘integrated’ ones, call for more efficient governance. We assume that once in the executive, that objective will also manifest itself in the rationalisation of law-making in legislatures. By applying a more assertive strategy and exploiting existing rules, cabinets will attempt to streamline their legislative agendas. We test this theoretical framework on empirical evidence from the Czech Chamber of Deputies, which can serve as prototypical case. Since 2010, three coalition governments have ruled. In the last two, the influence of populist parties (represented by ANO under the leadership of Andrej Babiš) gradually increased. By tracking the legislative performance of cabinets in the Chamber, we found that executives with a populist presence actually fared worse than their non-populist predecessor (baseline) in almost all proceedings and outcomes of law-making. The bills submitted by the last government, where ANO dominated, even suffered the most. Contrary to our assumption, a strategy of rationalisation has therefore not succeeded. The findings open interesting questions about how effective cabinets with populists are in law-making in parliaments, and about the future of legislatures as resilient safeguards against the populist challenge.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47500468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Positive Side Effects? The Impact of Populist Radical Right Parties in Government on the Media Visibility of the Austrian Parliament","authors":"E. Miklin, M. Dolezal","doi":"10.1093/PA/GSAB012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/PA/GSAB012","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article takes up the scholarly debate on the relationship between populism and democracy and analyses the effect populist radical right parties (PRRPs) in government have had on the representative function of the Austrian parliament. Building on insights from theories of newsworthiness, we expect these parties to positively affect the visibility of parliament due to the increased conflict between governing and mainstream opposition parties, thereby increasing parliamentary accountability. Our analysis covers the period from 1994 to 2020, with PRRPs in government from 2000 to 2007 and again from 2017 to 2019. Empirical inference is based on the weekly coverage of the Austrian parliament’s first chamber (Nationalrat) in a sample of four daily newspapers. The findings show that the first term in government did indeed have a positive and significant effect on media coverage. However, that this effect is not found for the second term suggests that its existence and size depend on the concrete political circumstances under which governments and media outlets operate.","PeriodicalId":19790,"journal":{"name":"Parliamentary Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2021-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1093/PA/GSAB012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42362781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}