Shaping Parliamentary Democracy
Shaping Parliamentary Democracy

Author: Alfredo De Feo

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-09-16

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 3030272133

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This book analyses nearly 100 original interviews with Members of the European Parliament from across the European Union who were active between 1979 and 2019. These interviews, preserved in the Historical Archives of the European Union at the European University Institute, capture the memories of the MEPs about their own roles and their assessment of what the parliament achieved in developing a European parliamentary democracy in the forty years following the first direct elections. The book offers a taste of the interviews in ten chapters, each of which corresponds to a specific theme presented in the archive: choosing the parliament, working inside the parliament machine, living inside the political groups, playing a part in major moments, influencing and shaping policy, scrutinizing and holding to account, making a mark beyond the EU, communicating the work of the parliament, keeping in touch with national societies, and looking to the future.

The European Union: How Democratic Is It?
The European Union: How Democratic Is It?

Author: Svein S Andersen

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 1996-02-27

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780761951131

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Taking as its starting point the major issues of democracy which are the ongoing concerns of every liberal Western political system, this volume offers a wide-ranging review of democracy in the European Union. It treats the EU as a new type of political system within the tradition of parliamentary democracies, a system which is neither federal nor intergovernmental, and which consequently has unique problems of how to handle democratic requirements. Part One deals with the two major challenges of interest articulation in the EU, political parties and lobbying. The second part discusses how democracy becomes the key element in the linkage between the EU and its member states, focusing on France, Italy and Belgium where the r

The Oxford Handbook of Swedish Politics
The Oxford Handbook of Swedish Politics

Author: Jon Pierre

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 737

ISBN-13: 0199665672

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The Handbook provides a broad introduction to Swedish politics, and how Sweden's political system and policies have evolved over the past few decades.

The Character of Democracy
The Character of Democracy

Author: Richard A. Clucas

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 9780199945467

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The Character of Democracy: How Institutions Shape Politics offers a uniquely comprehensive overview of the major democratic institutions found around the world, including electoral systems, party systems, presidential and parliamentary governments, legislatures, federalism, and constitutional courts. The authors first present five broad categories of democratic ideals that reflect the consent of the governed--meaningful elections, fair representation, accountability, majority rule and minority rights, and the functionality of the state--and then explain how well different institutional designs live up to these democratic ideals. For each institution, they provide an in-depth treatment of its related literature, describe variations in how it is structured around the world, and explain why these variations are important to how democratic political systems work. Case studies of the political structures found in Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States illustrate how differences in institutional design affect democratic government. Taking an analytical and scholarly approach that does not advocate any particular democratic design, The Character of Democracy is ideal for advanced courses in comparative politics and/or democratic institutions.

Parliamentary Administrations in the European Union
Parliamentary Administrations in the European Union

Author: Anna-Lena Högenauer

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1137596260

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This book offers a comprehensive overview of the role of parliamentary administrations in the control of European Union policy-making. It questions whether the decision to give parliaments greater powers in the aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty had only the intended effect of political debate on European policies, or whether it has also resulted in the bureaucratisation of parliaments. The authors argue that the challenges of information-management faced by parliaments lead them to delegate an extensive set of tasks to their administrations. They offer a broad empirical picture, analysing the challenges faced by national parliaments and the role and response of their administrations in the case of the European Parliament, national parliaments and regional parliaments. In addition, the book studies the interaction between different administrations and their contribution to interparliamentary cooperation. It presents a new and different perspective on the challenges and dynamics of multi-level parliamentarism.

Rationalizing Parliament
Rationalizing Parliament

Author: John D. Huber

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-08-28

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 9780521562911

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Rationalizing Parliament examines how institutional arrangements in the French Constitution shape the bargaining strategies of political parties. Professor Huber investigates the decision by French elites to include in the Constitution legislative procedures intended to "rationalize" the policy-making role of parliament and analyzes the impact of these procedures on policy outcomes, cabinet stability, and political accountability. Through its use of theories developed in the American politics literature, the study reveals important similarities between legislative politics in the United States and in parliamentary systems and the shortcomings in conventional interpretations of French institutional arrangements.

A History of Bangladesh
A History of Bangladesh

Author: Willem van Schendel

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-07-02

Total Pages: 459

ISBN-13: 1108620337

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Bangladesh did not exist as an independent state until 1971. Willem van Schendel's state-of-the-art history navigates the extraordinary twists and turns that created modern Bangladesh through ecological disaster, colonialism, partition, a war of independence and cultural renewal. In this revised and updated edition, Van Schendel offers a fascinating and highly readable account of life in Bangladesh over the last two millennia. Based on the latest academic research and covering the numerous historical developments of the 2010s, he provides an eloquent introduction to a fascinating country and its resilient and inventive people. A perfect survey for travellers, expats, students and scholars alike.

The Parliamentary Roots of European Social Policy
The Parliamentary Roots of European Social Policy

Author: Mechthild Roos

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-09-01

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 3030782336

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The European Parliament (EP) – a powerful actor in today's European Union – was not intended to be more than a consultative assembly at first. Yet this book shows that the EP was much more influential in shaping Community policy in the early years of the integration process than either the founding Treaties or most existing scholarship would allow. It studies the EP’s institutional evolution through the lens of Community social policy, a policy area with a particularly strong ideational dimension. By promoting a European social dimension, Members of the EP (MEPs) presented the Parliament as the true representative of European citizens by channelling their interests and needs. MEPs thus emphasised the EP’s role as a provider of democratic legitimacy for Community politics, whilst at the same time trying to convince European citizens that the Communities could have a real and positive impact on their everyday lives.