Parliamentary Affairs - recent issues

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

2008-06-27

Introduction: The Descriptive and Substantive Representation of Women: New Directions

Celis, K., Childs, S. — 2008-06-27

Women 'Leaders' in Local Government in the UK

Bochel, C., Bochel, H. — 2008-06-27

This article examines aspects of the ‘leadership’ roles and functions of female and male councillors. It highlights the continued under-representation of women in terms of the proportion of councillors who are women, and the ‘gender gap’ that exists in terms of council leadership and the portfolios that men and women hold on council cabinets or executives. It moves on to a consideration of qualitative evidence that suggests that there are both similarities and differences in the way that female and male councillors in leadership positions perceive of their roles and styles, and what this may tell us about the substantive representation of women in local government.

The Downside of Gender Quotas? Institutional Constraints on Women in Mexican State Legislatures

Zetterberg, P. — 2008-06-27

In recent years, a rich and varied body of literature has developed that focuses on the way that institutional structures limit women's substantive representation. Claims have been made that some women legislators are more likely to suffer from institutional constraints than others; those entering legislature via legal gender quotas. Examining two Mexican state legislatures, where only one has adopted legal gender quotas, empirical testing gives no support to the hypothesis; ‘quota women’ do not seem to confront more obstacles than other women. No such negative side effect of quota legislation is identified. Two reasons are put forward; first, dependency on particular leaders is not isolated to quota women but is part of the overall political system. Secondly, the most strident battles occur within political parties for positions of power; hence gender quotas are perceived as a threat mainly to male colleagues within the party. Two key aspects are identified that deserve closer attention in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of the relationship between gender quotas and institutional obstacles to women's substantive representation: the political agendas raised by quota women and the interplay between different quota provisions and candidate selection rules.

Critical Acts without a Critical Mass: The Substantive Representation of Women in the Turkish Parliament

Ayata, A. G., Tutuncu, F. — 2008-06-27

Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 20 women MPs and parliamentary debates during the amendment of the Turkish Civil and Penal Codes, we elaborate on the possibility and conditions of women's impact on politics without their constituting a critical mass in the parliament. Our research reveals that when state machinery, women's machinery, and supra-national agencies have created a conducive context, as in the case of the last decade in Turkey, the substantive representation of women's issues become possible even in a political culture where women constitute only a ‘skewed’ group in the parliament.

'Is the Mere Presence of a Strong Female Candidate Enough to Increase the Substantive Representation of Women?'

Murray, R. — 2008-06-27

This article posits that the mere presence of a strong female candidate may increase the substantive representation of women. Using the case study of Ségolène Royal in the 2007 French presidential elections, this article argues that if being female appears to confer an electoral advantage, this might lead to a ‘policy contagion’ effect, with male rivals feminising their own agendas in order to compete with a woman. This hypothesis is tested on candidate manifestos to see if Royal's candidacy has led to the increased substantive representation of women. If so, a conclusion can be drawn that women's presence can have a positive effect on the substantive representation of women, regardless of whether or not women succeed in winning office.

Women, Political Leadership and Substantive Representation: the Case of New Zealand

Curtin, J. — 2008-06-27

The descriptive representation of women in cabinet is a necessary but not sufficient condition to achieve women-friendly policy outcomes. Rather, substantive representation of women by women political leaders also requires women's political activism. In this article, I explore the idea that institutionalised separate spaces are important sites of labour women's activism which promote and sustain women's policy leadership and the substantive representation of women. Through an examination of the New Zealand Labour Women's Council and four Labour women ministers who have used this space to pursue positions of influence and implement women-friendly policies, it becomes evident that it is not always possible for women leaders to publicly represent a ‘feminist’ claim, but this does not diminish their attempts at substantive representation. Rather, I suggest that an active and influential feminist reference group is a necessary supplement to women's executive presence.

Civil Society Participation in EU Gender Policy-Making: Framing Strategies and Institutional Constraints

AgustIn, L. R. — 2008-06-27

The participation of transnational advocacy networks (TANs) in the policy processes of the European Union (EU) is a potential site of substantial representation of women (SRW). In the article, it is argued that the institutional context can both enable and constrain civil society actors' claims-making. TANs employ framing strategies to make their claims resonate with or challenge the dominant discourse of the EU policies. The institutions use contested frames to constitute legitimate claims-makers, by recognising certain claims as more valid than others. The possibilities of SRW are delimited, since the pluralisation of claims is not sufficiently prioritised by the institutions.

Enhancing the Substantive Representation of Women: Lessons from Transitions to Democracy

Waylen, G. — 2008-06-27

This article considers how far the substantive representation of women has been enhanced during democratisation. It contrasts some third wave transitions from state socialism in Eastern Europe and authoritarianism in Latin America and South Africa. It assesses when women actors, both inside and outside the conventional political arena, could articulate gender issues, place them on the political agenda and then translate them into positive gender outcomes—either ‘gender friendly’ policy or institutions—during transitions. It argues that key actors, often feminists, and active within women's movements and different political institutions (for example women's policy agencies), are significant; but that the wider political context plays a key role.

The Ombudsman and the Executive: The Road to Accountability

Abraham, A. — 2008-06-27

The Constitution of the United Kingdom * The Evolution of a Constitution * Governing Britain Since 1945 * The Cost of Democracy

Kelso, A. — 2008-06-27

The Rebels: How Blair Mislaid his Majority * New Labour * Dirty Politics: New Labour, British Democracy and the Invasion of Iraq

Shaw, E. — 2008-06-27

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

2008-04-01

The Effect of Increased Women's Representation in Parliament: The Case of Rwanda

Devlin, C., Elgie, R. — 2008-04-01

There is an increasing amount of work on whether a higher level of women's representation in parliament leads to a different style of parliamentary politics. To date, most studies have focused on Western cases, and the results have been mixed. Women add new dimensions to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence that increased women's representation changes policy outputs. The little work that has been conducted outside the Western context confirms the mixed nature of these findings. In sub-Saharan Africa, women have added issues such as HIV/AIDS and property rights to the policy agenda, but there is little evidence to suggest that increased women's representation has altered policy outcomes. In this article, we examine the case of Rwanda, which now has the highest level of women's representation in parliament in the world at 48.75 per cent. Based on face-to-face interviews with women representatives in the Rwandan parliament, we confirm that the Western-based work has validity in a developing world context. In Rwanda, women representatives considered themselves to have a greater concern with grassroots politics, although there was also some divergence of views on the matter; there has been no change in the working hours or calendar of parliament. In terms of the policy agenda, women's issues are now raised more easily and more often than before, and there has been a strong advocacy of ‘international feminism’ by many deputies. However, increased women's representation has had little effect on policy outputs.

Building Democratic and Responsible Global Governance: The Role of International Parliamentary Institutions

Sabic, Z. — 2008-04-01

The emergence and growth of international parliamentary institutions (IPIs) is a phenomenon that needs a comprehensive evaluation. Their members, parliamentarians, are increasingly interested in participating in these institutions, which explains the dynamic growth of IPIs over the last few decades. IPIs also have a long history. The first among them, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was founded in 1889. As IPIs have the potential to establish themselves as a contributor to a more democratic and transparent global governance, the enthusiasm for creating them is puzzling, because parliamentarians are primarily expected to follow the local, rather than international agenda. Other problems may have a negative impact on activities of IPIs, such as the lack of continuity, institutional memory and funding. What, then, is the rationale behind the creation of IPIs? What are the returns that justify the investment of parliamentarians' time and energy in these institutions?

Devolved Governance and the Substantive Representation of Women: The Second Term of the National Assembly for Wales, 2003-2007

Chaney, P. — 2008-04-01

The UK's devolution programme in the 1990s was, in part, predicated upon ideas of ‘inclusiveness’ and overturning the traditional male domination of politics. Whilst attention has tended to focus on the increase in the numbers of women elected representatives, comparatively less focus has been placed upon the impact of devolution on women's substantive representation—or the situation whereby women's needs and concerns are reflected in public policy. This paper examines the case of the National Assembly for Wales. It concludes that while the link between women's presence as elected representatives and substantive representation is complex and mediated by a range of factors, probabilistically women are more likely than their male counterparts to use the institutional mechanisms of devolved governance in order to promote gender equality in policy and law.

Consigning its Past to History? David Cameron and the Conservative Party

Evans, S. — 2008-04-01

During his campaign for the party leadership in 2005, David Cameron argued that if the Conservatives wanted to win the next election, then they would have to change and convince the electorate that they had done so. The Conservative Party has certainly begun to change since Cameron became leader and he has worked to reposition it in the centre ground of politics. There are, however, a number of constraints upon Cameron's freedom of action which could prevent him from achieving his goals in the future, not least the latent power of his party's right-wing. Cameron has also combined his desire to change the Conservative Party with an equally potent desire to preserve his inheritance, and his ‘inner Thatcherite’ could yet triumph over his reforming self.

A Code of Conduct for Indonesia: Problems and Perspectives

Pelizzo, R., Ang, B. — 2008-04-01

Previous analyses have shown that the success of ethics reforms such as the adoption of codes of ethics and codes of conduct depends on whether legislators have homogeneous ethical standards. In this paper, we discuss why the DPD (upper chamber) and the DPR (lower chamber) of the Indonesian legislature have decided to enact a code of conduct. The paper also presents the results of a survey that we conducted in the Indonesian legislature. Data analysis reveals that the ethical standards of Indonesian legislators are far from being homogeneous. In the final section of the paper we suggest some of the steps that could be taken to homogenise their ethical views before drafting and implementing the code of conduct.

Blair and Howard: Predominant Prime Ministers Compared

Bennister, M. — 2008-04-01

Political leaders matter again. The study of political leaders, particularly prime ministers, has been an under-researched area, yet the leadership discourse is back on the agenda. This article puts prime ministerial predominance into this context using comparative analysis to examine prime ministerial leadership in Australia and the UK and evidence from the tenures of Tony Blair and John Howard. The article contends that similar centralising tendencies, personal projection and autonomy from established structures were evident in the tenures of these two prime ministers. Ultimately, this created dislocation (of varying degrees) between the leaders, followers and the wider electorate.

Government and Information: Scientific Research and Policy Agenda in Congress

Wu, C.-L. — 2008-04-01

The relationship between scientific knowledge and public policy-making is an issue that is still unfolding. Working from the conventional wisdom that scientific knowledge plays a primary role in formulating public policy, this article first presents the problem of the influence of scientific research on policy-making in the US Congress. It then examines some of the reasons why the original paradigm, in which scientific research has a direct effect on the congressional policy agenda, has proven to be untenable. Subsequently, it addresses the conception of the influence of scientific analysis on congressional policy-making. In this conception, the knowledge generated by epistemic communities does not dominate public policy with compelling empirical evidence; instead, it influences the policy agenda by shaping the conceptual vocabulary of members of Congress and their staffs.

The Ombudsman and Individual Rights

Abraham, A. — 2008-04-01

Observing the English and Scottish 2007 e-elections

Kitcat, J., Brown, I. — 2008-04-01

Elections held during May 2007 in England and Scotland for the first time allowed accredited observers access to polling stations and counts. This provided an opportunity for detailed scrutiny of the use of e-voting and e-counting equipment in these elections. This article assesses the use of these technologies using observations from 10 constituencies and data obtained using Freedom of Information Act requests, interviews with officials, candidates and parties and reports on previous trials. It finds that inadequate time was available during the procurement process for cross-party consensus to be built around the English e-voting trials or for systems to be fully tested. Design errors meant that a very large number of Scottish ballots were spoiled, while problems with ballot papers required a large number of votes to be counted manually. Votes initially missed due to an over-wide Excel spreadsheet changed the result in the Highlands and Islands and handed control of the Scottish Parliament from the Labour party to the Scottish National Party.

Hung-up over Nothing? The Impact of a Hung Parliament on British Politics

Kalitowski, S. — 2008-04-01

Debating Nationhood and Governance in Britain, 1885-1939 * Reinventing Britain: Constitutional Change under New Labour * Public Matters: The Renewal of the Public Realm

Bogdanor, V. — 2008-04-01

Devolution in Wales: Claims and Responses, 1937-1979

Deacon, R. — 2008-04-01

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

2008-01-02

Editorial

2008-01-02

'Far Too Elaborate About So Little': New Parliamentary Constituencies for England

Johnston, R., Rossiter, D., Pattie, C. — 2008-01-02

New Parliamentary constituency boundaries for England were implemented in 2007. It took over six years for the Boundary Commission to produce its final recommendations, and the new constituencies—which will probably first be used at a general election in 2009/2010—are based on electorate data for 2000; they will thus be seriously out-of-date by the time they are first used, and are likely still to be in place for at least one further general election (in 2013–2015?). A major cause for the extenuated process is the public consultation required under the relevant legislation. That consultation—although oriented to the general public—in effect involves little more than an invitation to the political parties to seek to influence the constitution of the new constituencies for their own electoral ends. A more streamlined system is proposed which removes that potential gerrymandering and would ensure that constituencies are not as outdated—and hence unequal in their electorates—as is currently the case.

A Loveless Marriage: The Conservatives and the European People's Party

Lynch, P., Whitaker, R. — 2008-01-02

The Conservatives are allied members of the European People's Party–European Democrats (EPP–ED) group in the European Parliament. But the link with the pro-European EPP has been a contentious issue within the Conservative Party. In deciding whether to remain within the EPP–ED, the Conservatives have to balance issues of domestic party management with their policy and office objectives at the European level. In this article we first assess David Cameron's commitment to form a new group, and then analyse the advantages and disadvantages of Conservative membership of the EPP–ED by examining roll-call votes and modelling two scenarios for a new group in 2009. We conclude that the pros and cons of forming a new group are finely balanced.

Legislative Control of Cabinet Appointments to the Public Service: A Canadian Case-Study in the Political Limits to Parliamentary Reform

Pond, D. — 2008-01-02

This paper analyses an important Canadian experiment in the legislative scrutiny of political appointments by the executive. Since 1991, the Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Government Agencies has routinely interviewed cabinet appointments to semi-independent agencies, which are a major policy instrument at both federal and provincial levels in Canada. The Committee was assigned this task on the assumption that partisan Members could agree on criteria for questioning witnesses about their qualifications, and that the government would be willing to withdraw candidates exposed as inadequate. At the same time, the governing party retained the discretion to make partisan appointments. An examination of how the Committee conducts interviews reveals a tension between the Members' role in holding the executive accountable, and their identities as partisan politicians. In large part, the Committee has become a forum for debates on the appropriate limits to patronage in appointments to public bodies.

Professional Development Programmes for Members of Parliament

Coghill, K., Holland, P., Donohue, R., Rozzoli, K., Grant, G. — 2008-01-02

Parliamentarians are engaged in various activities requiring special expertise. The development of relevant skills is a legitimate responsibility of parliamentary administrations as they affect not only individuals but also the performance of the institution. Review of the scholarly literature, publications by a wide range of parliaments and books and personal communications with leading scholars, parliamentary officials and agencies providing parliamentary strengthening programmes find scholarly research to be severely neglected. This project is unique as it involved interviews with Australian Parliamentary Officers responsible for delivery of induction training as well as interviews with newly elected senators who were the recipients of the induction programme. The findings indicated that the induction programme provided to new senators generally met or exceeded participants' expectations; however, it was primarily focused on the functions and operations of the Chamber, rather than developing broader skills. The results also suggested that while the induction programme encompassed many of the features of a well-designed training programme, this was largely due to the professionalism of the Parliamentary Officers responsible for providing it.

Bi-constitutionality: Unravelling New Labour's Constitutional Orientations

Flinders, M., Curry, D. — 2008-01-02

Although there is no doubt that the British constitution has been significantly reformed since the election of Labour in May 1997, the degree to which these reforms have altered the nature of British democracy remains deeply contested. A major problem within this debate is that it has become polarised around a binary distinction between consensual or majoritarian models of democracy when the contemporary situation is more complex. This article develops the concept of ‘meta-constitutional orientations’ in order to argue that the distinctive element of ‘New’ Labour's approach to constitutional engineering is not that it has shifted the nature of British democracy from one model to another but has, instead, sought to apply different models at the periphery and core: bi-constitutionality.

From 'Parliamentary Control' to 'Accountable Government'? The Role of Public Committee Hearings in the Swedish Riksdag

Arter, D. — 2008-01-02

The present article, which draws on data from the 2002–2006 Riksdag, analyses the capacity of the Swedish standing committee system to hold the executive to account and, in particular, the contribution to this made by public committee hearings. In light of the significant growth in their number, it is asked whether open hearings have contributed to a shift away from the historic instruments of ‘political control’ towards a greater (British-style) emphasis on ‘accountable government’. Direct ministerial accountability has remained largely confined to the Constitution Committee's annual review of government, but the responsibility for holding the executive to account has been widened by the obligation placed on all committees to engage in post-legislative scrutiny (‘follow-up and evaluation’).

The Modernisation of British Government in Historical Perspective

Cline, A. W. — 2008-01-02

There is a substantial stock of literature regarding the public administration policies that have been pursued since 1979. These policies, which have increasingly been grouped under the heading of Modernising Government, are a valuable contribution to our understanding of the administration of contemporary policy. However, if we want to truly comprehend the reforms that have taken place in the management and functioning of the Civil Service and the way that the state is organised, then we need to look further into the past. This article places the Modernising Government agenda and reforms in the context of the broader history of public management policy and core executive organisation. Although the Blair reforms have punctuated the public administration equilibrium, they are not drastically different theoretically as they merely formalise the model outlined by Northcote-Trevelyan in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Scottish Parliament and its Capacity for Redistributive Policy: The Case of Land Reform

Laible, J. — 2008-01-02

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act of 2003 demonstrated the capacity of the Scottish Parliament to promote economically redistributive policies by regulating land markets. However, the factors contributing to land reform suggest that it is more likely the consequence of unique political contexts than an indicator of sustained radicalism in the Parliament. Initially, institutional sponsorship by Westminster and Whitehall legitimised land reform as a legislative project. Subsequently, a cross-party consensus in Scotland linked land reform with democratisation, the issue resonated with Scottish Executive goals regarding sustainable development and the existence of funding streams for land purchases initially shielded the Executive from difficult budgetary questions.

Presidentialism Enthroned: The French Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of April May and June 2007

Bell, D. S., Criddle, B. — 2008-01-02

Presidential and parliamentary elections in France in 2007 provided evidence of a reversal of Europe-wide trends of falling support for governing parties, rising support for parties of protest and high rates of abstention, and of the specifically French pattern of serial defeat for incumbent governing parties. Nothwithstanding declining identites of Right and Left, the Right won because of its relatively greater cohesion, the higher salience of Right-favouring issues and the strengthening of the presidential character of the regime, whereas the Left suffered from a perennial minority status made worse by its greater reliance on an enduring culture of protest.

The Ombudsman as Part of the UK Constitution: A Contested Role?

Abraham, A. — 2008-01-02

Convergent Evolution: The Development of Online Engagement in Westminster and Whitehall Through the Use of Online Forums

Ferguson, R. — 2008-01-02

Scandals in Past and Contemporary Politics

Belzak, S. — 2008-01-02

Joined-Up Government, OUP for the British Academy

Hill, D. M. — 2008-01-02