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Abstract
This article describes the work of the Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament (the Forum) which was established by the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of Dáil Éireann) in 2021. The Forum was established to make recommendations that would result in a more family friendly parliamentary community that better reflects Irish society in terms of its diversity and inclusivity. The article discusses the terms of reference of the Forum, it describes the makeup of the Forum and how it worked to engage with stakeholders and made 51 recommendations. It then sets out some of the key recommendations and approaches to their implementation. The Forum is distinguished from similar initiatives in other parliaments because of its focus on the parliamentary community as a whole and not just the elected members, and further because it was focused on diversity and inclusivity beyond gender.
Abstract
This paper aims to open a new path for the comparative cross-historical and cross-cultural analysis of deliberating or deciding assemblies. For this purpose, it makes use of a wide concept of parliament, in contrast to the conventional narrow one which focuses on democratic elections and a free mandate. The essay starts with an overview of the large variety of “parliamentarianisms” across history and culture, and then points out the shortcomings of the “historically flat” legislative research conducted to date. It goes on to show how the use of non-biological evolutionary theory can enhance comparative historical research on institutions. Finally, it is demonstrated how “institutional morphology”, which draws a distinction between no fewer than five different forms of similarity, can be fruitfully used for empirical research into parliaments in particular, and institutions in general.
Abstract
Consensus is a key feature of the European Union. In the European Parliament, most legislation is adopted by a grand coalition between the left and the right. While this trans-partisan cooperation has always been informal, the epp and s&d groups agreed on a formal political coalition in 2014. For the first time in the ep’s history, this grand coalition was based on a policy programme negotiated by the two groups’ leadership. Based on roll-call vote data, this paper aims to understand the impact of this deal on actual coalition-building in the ep plenary. We find that the 2014 coalition deal provided a framework that incentivises legislative actors to increase their levels of cooperation on the issues on which they usually cooperate the least.
Abstract
The British parliamentary system is generally praised for its longevity and stability. However, the flaws of British democracy were highlighted following the referendum of June 2016. This withdrawal was not only an earthquake for the European project, it was also the source of unprecedented constitutional controversies in the UK itself. In particular, it raised a series of questions about the respective competences of national institutions and local institutions in the field of European affairs and, more broadly, in foreign affairs. Since the British Constitution is not a written one, the rules for the distribution of competences in these areas are essentially the result of practice.
The UK’s parliamentary regime, that was in the process of collapsing in September 2019 appears, against all odds, to have recovered following the early elections of 12 December 2019. The result of those elections has apparently provided a way out of the crisis, although it is unclear whether it will be temporary or not.
Abstract
This article provides an analysis of public engagement as it is practised and conceptualised by the Welsh Parliament. It does so by applying an interpretive framework to elite interviews and parliamentary committee report forewords, in order to identify institutional narratives of public engagement. These narratives are identified and discussed at three different levels of decision-making (and in ascending levels of ‘abstraction’): practice, strategy, and concept. The chosen framework and methodology show the usefulness of narrative at a conceptual and analytical level. The conclusions drawn – regarding 1) the need for a shift from public-facing to public-engaging committee work, 2) a lack of clarity on desired outcomes, and 3) continued tensions around sources of evidence and knowledge – are relevant and applicable to parliaments across a range of contexts.