Parliamentary Institutions in Regional and International Governance: Functions and Powers

ISBN-13: 9781857439809 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 210 str.

Andrea Cofelice

Opis

This volume offers an original and theoretically grounded conceptualization and measurement of international parliamentary institutions and their role in ensuring the accountability of regional international organizations. Through a comparative analysis of the establishment, evolution, institutional organization, oversight and policymaking functions of 22 parliamentary institutions, mainly from European, African and Latin American regional international organizations, the book serves a twofold purpose. First, it allows assessment of the extent to which parliamentary institutions have (measurable) influence on the outcome of regional organizations' decision-making processes. Second, drawing on the literature on new institutionalism and comparative regionalism, the volume investigates the conditions under which the influence of parliamentary institutions is expected to grow, thus advancing the understanding of the variation and development of this poorly explored type of international institution. The book is aimed at scholars of global governance, international organization and comparative regionalism, and will also be of interest to parliamentarians and parliamentary practitioners from national and international institutions.

Recenzje

In his book, Andrea Cofelice offers a detailed and thorough investigation which compares 22 parliamentary institutions from European, African and Latin American international regional organizations. He discusses the impact produced on the decision-making processes and the conditions under which such impact is expected to expand. Research on these important aspects of international politics is refreshing and well-needed.
-Daniela Irrera, Europe Now

Spis treści

List of tables and figures Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction What are the conditions? A review of the literature on parliamentary empowerment New institutionalism Comparative regionalism Concluding remarks: two propositions on the empowerment of international parliamentary institutions References Institutional features: appointment, representation and internal organisation Origins of parliamentary institutions and the "time factor" Institutional setting of regional international organisations Size and distribution of seats of parliamentary institutions Selection modalities of members of parliamentary institutions Time spent in plenary sessions and internal organisation Groupings in the assemblies and required majorities Concluding remarks: what do international parliamentary institutions represent? References Parliamentary functions and powers Assessing the strength of parliamentary institutions: towards a "parliamentary powers index" Policy-making: consultative and legislative functions Budgetary functions Accountability: oversight and appointment functions Concluding remarks: an overview of parliamentary functions and powers References Explaining the empowerment of international parliamentary institutions Two main roads: between normative spillover and spurred emulation Alternative strategies? The role of informal rules, inter-institutional alliances and the "parliamentarist ideology" References Conclusion Appendix – Primary sources

O autorze

Andrea Cofelice (PhD, University of Siena, Italy, 2015) is a research fellow at the Centre for Studies on Federalism in Turin, Italy. He is a member of the research team on ‘International Democracy Watch’ and an editor of the Italian Yearbook of Human Rights (Peter Lang, 2011-). He has published in several edited books on comparative regionalism and parliamentary diplomacy, and in journals including Italian Political Science Review, European Foreign Affairs Review, Mediterranean Quarterly, and The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.