Committee Scrutiny Within a Consociational Context: A Northern Ireland Case Study

Cole, Michael

doi:10.1111/padm.12111

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…For the Assembly, some of the issues affecting its scrutiny capacity are already known. Behavioural issues, such as the tendency for MLAs to prioritise party loyalty above their scrutiny obligations (Wilford, 2015) and structural issues, such as the presentation-style format of committee scrutiny sessions (Cole, 2015), are both thought to work against rigorous accountability. For the Executive, lack of cooperation between ministers is likely contributing to its poor reputation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle?

Haughey

Loughran

2023

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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Consociationalism’s uneven performance has focussed attention on the (possible) end stage of power-sharing systems. Northern Ireland, once lauded a consociational success, is now discussed among consociational failures. We use new public opinion data to assess consociationalism in Northern Ireland from a citizen’s perspective, exploring support for, trust in, and knowledge of power-sharing. We show that public attachment to the principles of power-sharing is higher than might be expected, despite dissatisfaction with the practical operation of the institutions. Whilst trust in the Assembly is low, trust in some Executive ministers is higher. The results from a political knowledge test are suggestive of healthy (if critical) political engagement. Support for power-sharing is, however, lopsided vis-à-vis the region’s two ethnonational communities. Citizens therefore offer a mixed verdict which, while not a ringing endorsement of the status quo, does not suggest the end of power-sharing. Assessments of power-sharing elsewhere could make similar use of public opinion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle?

Haughey

Loughran

2023

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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“…This is the challenge which this article explores: in an institution which prioritises community demarcation, and in a system which makes cross-community and cross-party cooperation abnormally difficult (Cole, 2014), PAC members are tasked with working on a committee which requires these most fundamental markers of difference to be transcended in favour of taking a collective approach. The expectation, based on analysis of PAC theory and the complex political arrangements in Northern Ireland, is that this will emerge as a fractured, ineffective committee, heavily reliant on the legislative auditor in conducting inquiries during 2011-2016.…”

Section: Clare Ricementioning

confidence: 99%

Theory vs reality: partisanship and Northern Ireland's Public Accounts Committee 2011–2016

Rice

2019

The Journal of Legislative Studies

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Public accounts committees (PACs) are tasked with scrutinising executive use of public money, undertaking inquiries with the support of the legislative auditor. Through several means, an expectation is placed on members to be politically neutral in undertaking committee work. However, in the context of Northern Ireland, where consociationalism entrenches binary ethno-national identities throughout the political institutions, it would be expected that party-political interests would prevail and fracture the committee. This paper analyses Northern Ireland's PAC from three perspectives, alongside qualitative data from interviews with committee members: theory, party-partisanship and changes in the committee's working relationship with the legislative auditor. It is argued that over the 2011-2016 mandate, this PAC coalesced and functioned well as a unit despite expectation to the contrary, and that the changing dynamics of its working relationship with the Northern Ireland Audit Office over this time are testament to its development in this way.

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Policymaking in a plural society: the case of human experiments in medicine in Israel

Neubauer-Shani,

Lepicard

2023

J. Pub. Pol.

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Various processes in recent years have brought about trends of polarization within democratic societies, challenging political stability. Against this backdrop, policy patterns that are being adopted regarding controversial issues are significantly affected by these countries’ aspiration to create and maintain a consensus, which may have implications not favoring the public. One such issue is human experiments in medicine (clinical trials), which has been regulated by most countries through primary legislation. As a deeply divided society, Israel has been addressing this issue through regulation and secondary legislation, despite several attempts to have it regulated through primary legislation. This article employs the consociational model alongside Public Choice Theory to explain the adoption of this policy pattern on the issue of human experiments. Based on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and existing sources, it sheds light on the normative choice that weighs the merits of primary legislation against the virtues of accommodation and consensus.

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Committee Scrutiny Within a Consociational Context: A Northern Ireland Case Study

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle?

Public opinion and consociationalism in Northern Ireland: Towards the ‘end stage’ of the power-sharing lifecycle?

Theory vs reality: partisanship and Northern Ireland's Public Accounts Committee 2011–2016

Policymaking in a plural society: the case of human experiments in medicine in Israel

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