Legislative Assemblies: Voters, Members, and Leaders

Legislative assemblies in democratic societies face the challenges of institutional capacity and accountability to their citizens. This book identifies three ideal types of democratic assemblies and analyzes national legislative assemblies in the world's 68 most populous democracies. The analysis reveals that the fate of incumbents depends on member resources and leadership control, but is ultimately constrained by voter confidence.

Format: Hardback
Length: 432 pages
Publication date: 09 November 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

In democratic societies, legislative assemblies, whether referred to as Parliaments, Legislatures, or Assemblies, grapple with two fundamental challenges: institutional capacity and accountability to their citizens. These assemblies must navigate a complex web of interests and stakeholders, including their members, party leaders, and voters, to effectively fulfill their roles. In this insightful book, Shane Martin and Kaare W. Strøm present three ideal types of democratic assemblies: the members' assembly, the leaders' assembly, and the voters' assembly. They examine national legislative assemblies in the world's 68 most populous democracies, ranging from Finland to Papua New Guinea, and assess their alignment with these models. Through extensive new cross-national data, the authors trace the implications of these assembly types for the design, internal organization, resources, and powers of democratic national assemblies. They develop indices to measure each assembly type and evaluate each of the 68 legislative assemblies based on these metrics. The analysis of legislative re-election rates in these countries reveals that the fate of incumbents hinges on a combination of member resources and leadership control, but ultimately is constrained by voter confidence. In conclusion, the authors explore the past and future trajectories of legislative assemblies, discussing their vulnerability to democratic backsliding and the importance of maintaining robust institutions to uphold the principles of democracy.

In democratic societies, legislative assemblies, whether referred to as Parliaments, Legislatures, or Assemblies, grapple with two fundamental challenges: institutional capacity and accountability to their citizens. These assemblies must navigate a complex web of interests and stakeholders, including their members, party leaders, and voters, to effectively fulfill their roles. In this insightful book, Shane Martin and Kaare W. Strøm present three ideal types of democratic assemblies: the members' assembly, the leaders' assembly, and the voters' assembly. They examine national legislative assemblies in the world's 68 most populous democracies, ranging from Finland to Papua New Guinea, and assess their alignment with these models. Through extensive new cross-national data, the authors trace the implications of these assembly types for the design, internal organization, resources, and powers of democratic national assemblies. They develop indices to measure each assembly type and evaluate each of the 68 legislative assemblies based on these metrics. The analysis of legislative re-election rates in these countries reveals that the fate of incumbents hinges on a combination of member resources and leadership control, but ultimately is constrained by voter confidence. In conclusion, the authors explore the past and future trajectories of legislative assemblies, discussing their vulnerability to democratic backsliding and the importance of maintaining robust institutions to uphold the principles of democracy.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198890829