This is the most ambitious and comprehensive account of the institutions of democratic delegation in West European parliamentary democracies to date. It provides an unprecedented cross-national investigation of West European political institutions from 1945 until the present day, as well as situating modern parliamentary democracy in the context of changing political parties and the growing importance of the European Union.

The European Union has had an effect on national decision-making and the chain of delegation and accountability in five parliamentary democracies. The country studies here present the most important changes that are taking place as Denmark, Finland and Sweden adapt to EU membership and Iceland and Norway participate in the European Economic Area (EAA). The analyses are based on a principal-agent perspective and the contributors show that a transfer of power from the national level to the supranational level does not necessarily mean that domestic delegation fails or that accountability is...

The European Union has had an effect on national decision-making and the chain of delegation and accountability in five parliamentary democracies. The country studies here present the most important changes that are taking place as Denmark, Finland and Sweden adapt to EU membership and Iceland and Norway participate in the European Economic Area (EAA). The analyses are based on a principal-agent perspective and the contributors show that a transfer of power from the national level to the supranational level does not necessarily mean that domestic delegation fails or that accountability is...