Changing Patterns of Voting Strength in the European Parliament
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7728038 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Linda L Fowler, Pieter L Polhuis, Scott C Paine |
| Year | 1983 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 159 |
| Publication date | 1983-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0010-4159 • E-ISSN: 2151-6227 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/421674 |
| OpenAlex | W2321202683 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 4 |
In 1979, a major step in the development of the European Parliament as a representative institution was taken. Members were selected for the first time by direct popular election and party candidates competed against each other for seats to which they had been appointed formerly by their respective national governments. change was heralded as a significant advance toward more citizen involvement in the affairs of the European Economic Community (EEC) and as a mechanism for greater popular control over EEC decisions. changing role of the Parliament is reflected in the remarks of its new president, Simone Weil: The institutional limitations of its power cannot prevent a Parliament such as ours from speaking out at all times, and in every field of Community action, with the political authority conferred on it by its election.1 As a means of legitimizing the new selection process, parliamentary seats were redistributed to reflect national populations more accurately. This shift toward person, one vote entailed a substantial increase in the number of seats held by the big four-France, Italy, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. Because the smaller countries historically have enjoyed a disproportionaely large share of the seats, the new Parliament would appear to have produced a transfer of strength from the smaller countries. Previous studies demonstrated that the apportionment systems within various deliberative bodies of the EEC have been weighted against the larger countries. In the Council of Ministers, for example, Belgium and the Netherlands were found to exercise nearly as much voting power as West Germany.2 Similar inequities occurred in the EEC Assembly prior to direct election.3 Although greater egalitarianism seems to have been accomplished, it is often the case that reapportionment schemes produce paradoxical results. It has been shown that decreases in the share of votes can actually increase individual voting power4 and that these results are unavoidable in any voting body
Parliament · Political science · Politics · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements
| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1997 - 1999 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |