This book sheds new light on the often shadowy, but essential role of committees, which exist in modern parliaments around the globe, and it questions the conventional notion that the 'real' work of parliament happens in committees.

Renowned country specialists take a close look at what goes on in committees and how it matters for policy making. While committees are seen as the central place where policy is made, they often hold their sessions closed to the public and calls for transparency are growing. To understand this "black box" it is necessary to look within but also beyond the walls of the committee rooms and parliament buildings. Bringing together formal and informal aspects, rules and practices shows that committees are not a paradise of policy making. They have great relevance nonetheless: as crystallization points in the policy networks, as drivers for division of labor and for socialization and the integration of MPs.

The new insights presented in this book will be of interest to scholars, students and professionals in parliamentary affairs, legislative studies, government, and comparative politics. They are also relevant for political analysts, journalists, and policymakers.

About the Author

Sven T. Siefken is professor of political science at the German Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Parliamentary Research (IParl) in Berlin.

Hilmar Rommetvedt is research professor of political science at NORCE Norwegian Research Centre in Stavanger, Norway.

Reviews

"This book addresses one of the most important issues in the field of legislative studies - parliamentary committees. Not enough books have looked into this topic, and it has been quite a few years since the last one. The fact that the centrality of parliamentary committees in policy-making is not assumed but investigated is a strength, and the team assembled to cover each country is impressive. A common framework for analysis implemented in the country cases creates a cohesiveness that is lacking in most cross-country edited volumes. This book offers a useful, original and important contribution."

Reuven Y. Hazan, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

"Parliamentary Committees in the Policy Process provides a close view of committee members, organization and functions in 12 countries, ranging from the stable to the episodic, from the large to the small, and from one hemisphere to the other. This book's multi-dimensional view of committee members and policy functions within a changing and complex institutional structure will be a basic platform for future research on ubiquitous and variable legislative committees in parliaments around the world."

David M. Olson, UNC Greensboro, USA.

"In sum, this volume is a highly interesting and extremely important contribution to the literature on legislative committees. The volume analyzes the substantial role parliamentary committees play in policy-making. Thereby, it questions the widespread assumption that policies are made in parliamentary committees which is a clear strength of the contribution."

Simone Wegmann

Book Information
ISBN 9780367617950
Author Sven T. Siefken
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 580g