Cohesion of British Parliamentary Parties
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3369388 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leon D Epstein (University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1956 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 360-377 |
| Publication date | 1956-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1951674 |
| OpenAlex | W2112406185 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 7 |
In the perspective of those political scientists who would reform American parties so as to make them more "responsible," British parties are familiar prototypes. Prominent among the admired qualities is the cohesion displayed in parliamentary voting by the members of each major British party. That this cohesion is greater than that of American legislative parties has been generally observed at least since the work of A. Lawrence Lowell. And it is common enough, though not universal, to regard British parliamentary solidarity as a virtue particularly because it permits a victorious party, after an election, to enact the program behind which a majority of voters have presumably been rallied. Correspondingly, the relatively low cohesion among Republican and among Democratic congressmen is taken as a defect of American politics.The purpose of this article, however, is not primarily to discuss value judgments concerning parliamentary cohesion. Rather it is to examine the nature of that cohesion and the ways in which it is maintained. But regardless of the disputed merits of British practice, it is still reasonable to ask after such an examination whether the cohesion of party members in the House of Commons is the product of devices which the United States could adopt, or whether it is the result of underlying factors alien to the American environment
Cohesion (chemistry · Democracy · House of Commons · Legislature · Parliament · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Solidarity · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Public Administration
Party Cohesion and Fractionalization in New African Democracies
Britain and the H-bomb, 1955–1958
The British Constitution and the Structure of the Labour Party
The Importance of Winning Big
Consensus and Structure in Legislative Norms
Local roots and rebellion
The Constitutionalisation of Party Unity
The Development of a Party-Orientated Electorate in England, 1832–1918
Explaining Party Cohesion in Congress
Policy Differences in British Parliamentary Parties
Toward A More Responsible Two-Party System
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,16 |
| Citation span | 1958 - 2025 (68) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |