Parliaments and Citizens in Western Europe: Parliaments in Contemporary Western Europe

ISBN-13: 9780714648354 / Angielski / Twarda / 2002 / 198 str.

Philip Norton

Opis

Legislatures have one core defining function: that of giving assent to measures that, by virtue of that assent, are to be binding on society. In practice, they have usually performed other roles as well, such as debating measures or the conduct of public affairs. They have existed for centuries. They span the globe. Most countries have one: federal states have several. Commentators throughout the 20th century bemoaned the decline of legislatures, yet the number shows no sign of declining: if anything, the reverse and their prominence increased in the 1990s because of developments in central and eastern Europe.

Spis treści

Preface -- Contributors -- General Introduction /Philip Norton -- 1. Introduction: Linking Parliaments and Citizens /Philip Norton -- 2. The United Kingdom: Building the Link between Constituent and MP /Philip Norton -- 3. Parliament and Citizens in Germany: Reconciling Conflicting Pressures /Thomas Saalfeld -- 4. Parliament and Citizens in Italy: A Distant Relationship /Vincent Della Sala -- 5. Belgian MPs: Between Omnipotent Parties and Disenchanted Citizen-Clients /Lieven De Winter -- 6. Still Persecuting Civil Servants? Irish Parliamentarians and Citizen /Eunan O'Halpin -- 7. Parliament and Citizens in Portugal: Still Looking for Links /Cristina Leston-Bandeira -- 8. The European Parliament: Of Barriers and Removed Citizens /Mark Shephard and Roger Scully -- 9. Conclusion: Developing the Links /Philip Norton -- Index.

O autorze

Philip Norton (Lord Norton of Louth) is Professor of Government and Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies at the University of Hull.