Modes of Executive-Legislative Relations: Great Britain, France, and West Germany

King, Anthony

doi:10.2307/439626

Cited by 232 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…As King (1976) first noted, PMQs is an important procedure where opposition frontbenchers, opposition backbenchers and government backbenchers all ask questions of the prime minister directed at them and their cabinet. These distinctions are important.…”

Section: What Are Prime Minister's Questions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, by employing a large N analysis of all PMQs from 1997 to 2008 we are able to assess the general agenda-setting effects of questions over time responding to the call for more in depth empirical analyses of PMQs made by Bates et al (2012, p. 24). Our analyses demonstrate that PMQs are an outlet for the opposition and backbench opposition MPs (King 1976) allowing them to put pressure on the government to respond to issues they might rather avoid. As such we throw more light into the practice and impact of questioning, adding to recent work on legislatures (Bates et al, 2012;Martin 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

Bevan¹,

John

2015

Gov. & oppos.

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This paper demonstrates how party leaders (frontbenchers) and backbenchers use their access to UK Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) to represent the policy agenda. Building on comparative research on parliamentary questions and agenda-setting as well as taking account of the particular context of PMQs, we argue that party leaders and followers draw attention to different kinds of policy topics with the express purpose of influencing the government. Based on a content analysis of over 9,000 questions between 1997 and 2008, our analysis demonstrates how the posing of questions affects subsequent agenda, varying according to whether questions come from the front or backbench, from government and opposition and from different parties. The findings demonstrate that PMQs helps both the opposition and backbenchers draw attention to issues that the government and opposition party leadership does not always wish to attend to. UK Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is potentially one of the most important means for the opposition to challenge the government on the major issues of the day.During PMQs opposition Members of Parliament put questions to the prime minister in full view of the public and expect well-briefed answers in return. However, the value and the purpose of PMQs has increasingly been called into question by recent research (for a summary see Bates et al, 2012) and even internal government debates (see UK Parliament, 1996) contain comments about the shallowness and shortcomings of PMQs.As it currently stands PMQs is widely believed to show off the rhetorical skills of the leaders of the main political parties attracting the attention of the media rather than to hold the government of the day to account.Even though there is a theatrical aspect to PMQs, we argue that the practice can still ensure the government addresses concerns that it might not otherwise wish to talk about and therefore is an important venue for ensuring accountability and responsiveness.As a result of the topics stressed in PMQs, the government has to confront the difficult issues of the day, which can advantage the opposition by putting the government on the defensive regardless of the completeness of the government's answers. Due to these efforts, the party or parties in control of government respond to other parliamentarian and To advance this argument, the paper first briefly outlines the procedure of PMQs for the period of our analyses (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008) followed by a review of the literature on agenda-setting through parliamentary questions. The paper then describes the data and methods used, before reporting the findings from graphical and statistical analyses. The conclusions draw out implications for the study of parliamentary representation. What are Prime Minister's Questions?Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) is a parliamentary convention whereby the prime minister answers questions in the House of Commons from Members of Parliament (including the leader(s) of the oppo...

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Section: What Are Prime Minister's Questions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

Bevan¹,

John

2015

Gov. & oppos.

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“…Ao apoiar um presidente, os partidos da coalizão passam a ter acesso a uma série de vantagens específicas, como negociar a distribuição de cargos públicos (ministérios, secretarias e cargos de escalões inferiores), pressionar para a liberação de créditos, ter privilégio nas emendas de MPs e em processos de concessão de rádio e TV. Segundo esse ponto de vista, os termos da relação entre o presidente da República e o Congresso também mudam, de modo que, em vez de prefigurar uma cooperação impulsionada pelo fato de cada um perseguir os seus objetivos específicos, eles se expressam na forma, típica dos regimes parlamentaristas, da relação entre Executivo (primeiro-ministro e ministros de gabinete) e partidos de maioria, isto é, uma competição entre partidos (King, 1976;Andeweg, 1992) e dentro das coalizões de governo (Lijphart, 1968;Pappalardo, 1978). Sendo assim, é possível supor que o projeto cujo proponente é da área do governo tenha mais chances de chegar a ser aprovado e sancionado.…”

Section: Objeto E Método De Indagaçãounclassified

O conteúdo da produção legislativa brasileira: leis nacionais ou políticas paroquiais?

Ricci¹

2003

Dados

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O objetivo principal deste artigo é responder à seguinte pergunta: qual é o conteúdo das leis aprovadas pelo Congresso brasileiro? Argumenta-se que a qualidade da produção legislativa no Brasil pode ser avaliada exclusivamente a partir do entendimento dos fatores institucionais que influenciam e estruturam o comportamento legislativo dos parlamentares. Nessas circunstâncias, o estudo dos outputs legislativos deve levar em consideração as determinantes presentes tanto na arena eleitoral quanto na arena parlamentar.As interpretações usuais costumam abordar o tema da qualidade da produção legislativa brasileira a partir da primeira arena. Geralmente referenciados nos estudos sobre o Congresso americano, e portanto baseados na premissa de que o objetivo primário dos políticos é se reeleger, muitos autores argumentam que a estratégia legislativa con- 699

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“…They also note that any democracy actually hosts a plethora of oppositions (e.g., Blondel, 1997;Kaiser, 2008;King, 1976;Tuttnauer, 2013), and that it is a complex phenomenon and a nebulous concept (e.g., Barker, 1971;Norton, 2008). Hence, the attempt to define what constitutes the opposition is a highly contested matter (Morgenstern, Negri, & Perez-Linan, 2008;Parry, 1997).…”

Section: The Definition and Role Of The Oppositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In its goal of replacing the government, the opposition, which is the weaker side, presents an alternative to its policies by criticizing them. The study of the opposition describes its composition, strength, definition, roles and effectiveness (e.g., Blondel, 1997;Dahl, 1966;Doring, 2001;King, 1976;Norton, 2008), but research about the opposition remains an inadequately explored area of political science (Mujica & Sanchez-Cuenca, 2006). Furthermore, the research that does exist concentrates on the outcomes of the legislative process rather than on the behavior of the opposition as a political actor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weapon of the Weak: One-Minute Speeches in the Israeli Parliament

Osnat¹

2017

RES

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Position taking is an important legislative area that scholars have investigated extensively. Since one of the main roles of the opposition is to present an alternative to the government, the question is, how does the opposition establish its positions? To address this question, we analyze the use of One-Minute Speeches (OMSs) by opposition members in the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) during 2000-2013. There were four Knesset terms during these years, so we have the opportunity to study the opposition's behavior over a period of time. We decided to analyze OMSs because they are considered an easy tool to use and as such can be considered a weapon of the weak. The study uses mixed research methods, beginning with a statistical analysis (both at the legislator level and at the OMS level) and continuing with a content analysis of the speeches and the interviews conducted with members and leaders of the opposition. The statistical analysis shows that opposition members use OMSs more extensively than coalition members. Among the opposition members, we also found different behavior patterns based on nationality and seniority. In addition, the qualitative analysis of both the OMSs and the interviews shows that opposition members are active in two ways. First, they react to government-initiated proposals. Second, they raise topics for the Knesset's agenda, a move that the coalition generally does not appreciate. Third, members of the opposition consider OMSs an effective tool in that it allows them to create a relevant debate on current issues. Finally, ministers and other MKs often respond to the opposition's OMSs that are controversial and provoke debate. Thus, we conclude that the OMS is a weapon of the weak.

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Modes of Executive-Legislative Relations: Great Britain, France, and West Germany

Cited by 232 publications

References 12 publications

Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

Policy Representation by Party Leaders and Followers: What Drives UK Prime Minister’s Questions?

O conteúdo da produção legislativa brasileira: leis nacionais ou políticas paroquiais?

Weapon of the Weak: One-Minute Speeches in the Israeli Parliament

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