The Politics of Legislative Debates (The Oxford Politics of Institutions)

Legislative debates make democracy and representation work. Political actors engage in legislative debates to make their voice heard to voters. Parties use debates to shore up their brand. This book makes the most comprehensive study of legislative debates thus far, looking at the politics of legislative debates in 33 liberal democracies in Europe, North America and Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The book begins with theoretical chapters focused on the key concepts in the study of legislative debates. Michael Laver, Slapin and Proksch, and Taylor examine the politics of legislative debates in parliamentary and presidential democracies. Subsequently, Goplerud makes a critical review of the methodological challenges in the study of legislative debates. Schwalbach and Rauh further discuss the difficulties in the comparative empirical study of debates. Country-chapters offer a wealth of original material organized around structured sections. Each chapter begins with a details discussion of the institutional design, focusing on the electoral system, legislative organization, and party parties, to which a section on the formal and informal rules of legislative debates ensues. Next, each country chapter focuses on analyzing the determinants of floor access, with a particular emphasis on the role of gender, seniority, legislative party positions, among others. In the concluding chapter, the editors explore comparative patterns and point out to multiple research avenues opened by this edited volume. The Oxford Politics of Institutions series is designed to provide in-depth coverage of research on a specific political institution. Each volume includes a mix of theoretical contributions, state-of-the-art research review chapters, comparative empirical chapters, country case study chapters, and chapters aimed at practitioners. Typically, the majority of chapters in each volume comprises of country studies written by country experts. Volumes in the series are aimed at political scientists, students in political science programmes, social scientists more generally, and policy practitioners. Series editors: Shane Martin, Anthony King Chair in Comparative Government and Head of the Department of Government, University of Essex; and Sona N. Golder, Professor of Politics, Department of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University. Cover The Politics of Legislative Debates Copyright Editors Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors 1: The Politics of Legislative Debates: An Introduction Why Study Legislative Debates? State of the Art Deliberate and Discourse Approaches to the Study of Debates Strategic or Rational Approaches to the Study of Legislative Debates Approaches Focusing on Individual Characteristics of Representatives A Comparative Analysis of Legislative Debates Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses Empirical Approach The Plan of the Book References 2: Analyzing the Politics of Legislative Debate Theorizing the Politics of Legislative Debate Parties as Unitary Actors? Legislative Debate and Inter-party Politics Legislative Debate and Intra-party Politics Private Policy Preferences and Public Policy Positions Conclusions References 3: Theories and Empirical Applications of Legislative Debate Introduction Institutions and Actors of Parliamentary Debate in Parliamentary Systems An Intra-Party Theory of Parliamentary Debate Theoretical Extensions: Inter-party Conflict and MPs’ Roles and Characteristics Government vs Opposition in Debate Coalition Dynamics in Debate Responding to Challenger Parties in Debate Policy Extremity Expertise, Seniority, and Parliamentary Committees Gender Differences in Debate Connecting Theory and Empirics: Understanding the Content of Parliamentary Speeches Conclusion References 4: Legislative Speech in Presidential Systems Introduction Proksch and Slapin’s Theory of Parliamentary Debate Government vs Opposition Coalition Dynamics in Debate Responding to Challenger Parties in Debate Policy Extremity Expertise, Seniority, and Committees Gender Differences in Debate Legislative Speech as Intrinsically Valuable Deliberation, Debate, and Transparency Measurement Legislative Speech in Presidential Systems: Toward an Alternative Approach References 5: Methods for Analyzing Parliamentary Debates Introduction Speech-As-Activity Innovations in Speech-As-Activity Speech-As-Measurement Measurement Beyond Ideology Innovations in Speech-As-Measurement Speech-As-Content Innovations in Speech-As-Content Causality and Text? Conclusions References 6: Collecting Large-scale Comparative Text: Data on Legislative Debates Introduction Best Practices for Collecting Large-scale Text Data on Legislative Debates An Example: The Updated ParlSpeech Corpora Pitfalls of Text-based Inference Across Parliamentary Settings and Languages Conclusion References 7: Argentina: Debates and Consensus in a Post-bipartisan Congress Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Argentina Conclusions Acknowledgments References 8: Australia: Speaker Time in an Adversarial System Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Australia Minority and Majority Government Dynamics in Australia Conclusions References 9: Austria: Individual Talent, Official Functions, and Party Size Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Austria Conclusions Acknowledgments References 10: Brazil: Legislative Debate under Coalition Presidentialism Model Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Brazil Conclusions References 11: Canada: Predictors of Floor-Access in the House of Commons, 1988–2019 Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Canada Country Specific Section Conclusions References 12: Chile: Examining Differences in Speech Participation in the Chamber of Deputies Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Chile Examining the Effects of Electoral Performance and District Location Conclusions References 13: Denmark: Open-list PR and Parliamentary Speech Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Denmark Electoral Incentives and Success and Parliamentary Speeches Conclusions References 14: Ecuador: Individual Incentives and the Gendered Path to Power Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Ecuador Gender Quotas and the Politics of Legislative Debates Conclusions References 15: Estonia: Quiet in Power, Noisy in Opposition Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Estonia Prominence Matters: Additional Determinants of Speech Activism Conclusions Acknowledgments References 16: European Parliament: Debating in a Legislature with Competing Incentives Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in the European Parliament The Role of Electoral Systems and Rules of Procedure Changes The Impact of Electoral Rules The Impact of Over-time Changes in Rules of Procedure Conclusions References 17: Finland: Legislative Speechmaking in a Changing Parliament Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Finland The Impact of Constitutional Reforms on Legislative Speechmaking Conclusions References 18: France: Talkative MPs under Control Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debates The Determinants of Floor Access in France Women and Legislative Debates in France: Cherchez la femme Conclusions References 19: Germany: Strong Party Groups and Debates among Policy Specialists Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Germany Division of Labor Between Specialists Conclusions References 20: Ghana: The Politics of Legislative Debates in a Hybrid Presidential Regime Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Ghana Gender and Party Leadership in Ghana Conclusions Acknowledgments References Official Documents 21: Greece: Debates in a Party-dominated System with Clientelistic Underpinnings Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Greece Institutional and Contextual Characteristics: District Magnitude and the Eurozone crisis Conclusions References 22: Iceland: Re-election and Career Advancement Motivations in a Permissive Legislature Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Iceland Do Primaries Make a Difference for Speechmaking? Conclusions Acknowledgments References 23: Ireland: The Paradox of a Weak Legislature in a Candidate-centered System Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate (i) Questions to the Taoiseach (ii) Leaders’ Questions (iii) Questions to Ministers (iv) Private Notice Questions and Priority Questions The Determinants of Floor access in Ireland Conclusions References 24: Israel: Legislative Debates in a Personalized Parliament Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate Parliamentary Group Debates Personal Debates Hybrid Debates Role-based Floor Access The Determinants of Floor Access in Israel Unpacking the Impact of Debate Categories in the Knesset Conclusions References 25: Italy: Legislative Speeches under Changing Electoral Rules Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Italy The Impact of Electoral Incentives on Speechmaking Conclusions References 26: Japan: Committee-Centered Oversight in a Dominant-Party System Introduction Institutional and Party System Background Effects of the Electoral Reform on Party Politics Structure and Arenas of the Policy-making Process in the Diet The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Japan Conclusions References 27: Malawi: Parliamentary Debate under Executive Dominance Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debates The Determinants of Floor Access in Malawi Conclusions Acknowledgments References 28: Mexico: Parties and Floor Access in the Cámara de Diputados Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Mexico Informal Waterproofing Conclusions Acknowledgments References 29: The Netherlands: Party Specialists Taking the Floor Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Netherlands Electoral List Position Conclusions References 30: New Zealand: Parliamentary Speeches under a Mixed-Member Proportional Electoral System Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debates The Determinants of Floor Access in New Zealand Conclusions Acknowledgments References 31: Norway: Committee-Membership Matters, Party Loyalty Decides Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Norway Debate Participation Conclusions References 32: Poland: Speechmaking under Open-List Proportional Representation Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Poland Question Time and Private Statements Conclusions Acknowledgments References 33: Portugal: Debating in a Party-Centered Legislature Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Portugal Conclusions References 34: Spain: A “Cardboard Model” of MP Floor Participation Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Spain Conclusions References 35: Sweden: Biased Debate Participation with Nearly Equal Gender Representation Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Sweden Party-specific Differences and the Conditional Impact of Gender and Seniority Conclusions References 36: Switzerland: The Politics of Legislative Debate Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Switzerland Conclusions Acknowledgments References 37: Turkey: Dynamics of Parliamentary Debates and Legislative Ambition Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in Turkey Exploring Party-level Variation Conclusions References 38: The United Kingdom: The (Increasing) Discretion of MPs in Parliamentary Debate Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate The Determinants of Floor Access in the United Kingdom Patterns of Debate Participation Over Time Constituency-oriented Language Conclusions References 39: United States: Evolving Determinants of Participation in Floor Debates Introduction Institutional and Party System Background The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate House of Representatives Senate The Determinants of Floor Access in the US Congress Polarization and Legislative Debates in the US Congress Conclusions References 40: Unpacking Comparative Patterns in Legislative Debates A Comparative Study of Legislative Debates The Institutional Setting of Legislative Debate Across the World A Comparison of the Role of Gender in Legislative Debates A Comparison of the Role of Seniority in Legislative Debates A Comparison of the Role of Important Positions in Legislative Debates The Way Forward Challenges for the Theoretical Modeling of Legislative Debates Methodological and Empirical Challenges for the Study of Legislative Debates References Index Legislative debates make democracy and representation work. Political actors engage in legislative debates to make their voice heard to voters. Parties use debates to shore up their brand. This book makes the most comprehensive study of legislative debates thus far, looking at the politics of legislative debates in 33 liberal democracies in Europe, North America and Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The book begins with theoretical chapters focused on the key concepts in the study of legislative debates. Michael Laver, Slapin and Proksch, and Taylor examine the politics of legislative debates in parliamentary and presidential democracies. Subsequently, Goplerud makes a critical review of the methodological challenges in the study of legislative debates. Schwalbach and Rauh further discuss the difficulties in the comparative empirical study of debates. Country-chapters offer a wealth of original material organized around structured sections. Each chapter begins with a details discussion of the institutional design, focusing on the electoral system, legislative organization, and party parties, to which a section on the formal and informal rules of legislative debates ensues. Next, each country chapter focuses on analyzing the determinants of floor access, with a particular emphasis on the role of gender, seniority, legislative party positions, among others. In the concluding chapter, the editors explore comparative patterns and point out to multiple research avenues opened by this edited volume. The Oxford Politics of Institutions series is designed to provide in-depth coverage of research on a specific political institution. Each volume includes a mix of theoretical contributions, state-of-the-art research review chapters, comparative empirical chapters, country case study chapters, and chapters aimed at practitioners. Typically, the majority of chapters in each volume comprises of country studies written by country experts. Volumes in the series are aimed at political scientists, students in political science programmes, social scientists more generally, and policy practitioners. -- Provided by publisher