Parliament without Government
The Belgian Parliament and the Government Formation Processes of 2007–2011
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6407484 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter Van Aelst (0000-0002-2548-0309), Tom Louwerse (0000-0003-4131-2724) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 475-496 |
| Publication date | 2014-05-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | West European Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01402382.2013.832953 |
| OpenAlex | W2219205152 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 18 |
| References cited | 38 |
Parliamentary systems are characterised by strong links between the executive and the legislature. While the importance of executive–legislative relationships is well-known, the extent to which executive dominance affects parliamentary behaviour is hard to grasp. This study uses the recent institutional crises in Belgium to study parliamentary behaviour in the absence of a government with full powers. Cabinet formation in Belgium has proved to be protracted in recent years, leading to long periods of government formation in both 2007–2008 and 2010–2011. Such circumstances provide a unique comparison between normal situations of parliament in the presence of government, and exceptional situations of prolonged periods of caretaker government. In particular the article looks at three aspects of parliamentary behaviour that are usually linked to executive–legislative relations: legislative initiatives, voting behaviour and party unity. The general hypothesis is that prolonged periods of government formation gave parliamentarians more opportunities to influence the legislative process and more (ideological) freedom. The results show a nuanced picture: parliament became more pro-active, the salience of the government–opposition divide declined, while party unity remained as strong as ever. It is concluded that government formation processes did not lead to drastic changes in the legislative–executive relationship, but rather permitted a modest correction to the extremely weak position of parliament
Cabinet (room · Economics · Government (linguistics · Legislature · Lower house · Opposition (politics · Parliament · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration
A bill of their own
Caretaker Conventions in Crisis Times
Taking Care of Policy in Times of Crisis
The Duration of Caretaker Periods and the Formation of Parliamentary Governments
Bargaining complexity and the duration of government formation
The Dutch Parliamentary Behaviour Dataset
Rebels in the house
Constitutional parliamentarism in Europe, 1800–2019
The Eurozone crisis and the European Parliament's changing lines of conflict
Gobierno en funciones y control parlamentario
The Impact of Election Campaigns on the Nationalization of Voting Behavior in Local Elections
Reaching across the aisle
Parliamentary Control of the Executive and the Duration of Government Formation
The Art of Compromise
Coalition bargaining time and governments’ policy‐making productivity
Beyond coalition and opposition? The effect of councilwide agreements on legislative voting behaviour in Dutch municipalities
Introduction
Winning & losing in coalition systems. A quasi-experimental study of the effect of coalition formation on satisfaction with democracy
Legislatures and Parliaments in Comparative Context
The Politics of Belgium
Party Policy in Modern Democracies
Executive–Legislative Relations Without a Government
The Institutional Power of Western European Parliaments
Members of parliament and governments in western Europe
Power to the Parties
UK OC OK? Interpreting Optimal Classification Scores for the U.K. House of Commons
Part 2
Party government in 20 democracies
Does Belgium (still) exist? Differences in political culture between Flemings and Walloons
Party system(s) and electoral behaviour in Belgium
Belgian Federalism Put to the Test
Partisanship, the Electoral Connection, and Lame-Duck Sessions of Congress, 1877–2006
Inter-party Agenda-Setting in the Belgian Parliament
Government-Opposition or Left-Right? The Institutional Determinants of Voting in Legislatures
Lame-Duck Politics
Why electoral systems don’t always matter
Pathways to party unity
The Parameters of Party Systems
Modes of Executive-Legislative Relations
Parliamentary Opposition in Post-Consociational Democracies
Party unity in parliamentary democracies
Governing without a Government
European Journal of Political Research
Legislative agenda‐setting in parliamentary democracies
Personal vote‐seeking in flexible list systems
Bargaining Delays in the Government Formation Process
Government Termination
Competing Principals, Political Institutions, and Party Unity in Legislative Voting
The Duration of Cabinet Formation Processes in Western Multi-Party Democracies
Wasting Time? The Impact of Ideology and Size on Delay in Coalition Formation
Expert Interpretations of Party Space and Party Locations in 42 Societies
Strategic Opposition and Government Cohesion in Westminster Democracies
The Statistical Analysis of Roll Call Data
| Unique citing works | 18 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,64 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |