Chairing UK Select Committees
Walking Between Friends and Foes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6313979 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Emma Crewe (0000-0003-0109-219X, University of London, corresponding author), Nicholas Sarra (School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 841-859 |
| Publication date | 2019-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Parliamentary Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-2290 • E-ISSN: 1460-2482 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pa/gsz036 |
| OpenAlex | W2965557119 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 9 |
In this article, we aim to look at the political, social and emotional world created by the UK’s House of Commons select committees and the part played by their chairs. Drawing upon the theoretical traditions of political anthropology (Spencer (2004, Anthropology, Politics and the State: Democracy and Violence in South Asia, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press)), group analytical theory (Foulkes (1948, Group Analytic Psychotherapy: Method and Principles, London, William Heinemann Medical Books)) and pragmatic philosophy (Dewey (1922, Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology, New York, NY, Henry Holt and Company)), we view the experience of individuals as relational, created in their interaction with other individuals and groups. The context is that select committees aspire to consider evidence impartially and work cohesively to hold government to account. Our focus is on the political work of the chairs of Commons’ select committees. Committee chairs, members and staff are constrained by the architecture, rules and rituals in their bid to achieve plausibility, but at the same time find the room to express individuality in the ways that they manage emotions and communicate with others through words, silence, bodily movements or facial expressions. By embodying the committee, and mediating between those involved, the work of chair involves walking between friends and enemies—forming alliances, dealing with disagreements and disciplining the unruly—to create the impression that select committees are above party politics
Aesthetics · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Government (linguistics · House of Commons · Political science · Politics · Silence · Social contract · Sociology · Emotional Labor in Professions · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Law · Management and Organizational Studies
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| Citations per year | 1.17 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |