Samuel C Patterson – författare

Parliaments in the Modern World presents the case that these legislative bodies – long characterized as institutionalized and therefore static – are in fact changing at a surprising rate. Whether the changes are subtle (as in the United Kingdom) or responding to fundamental constitutional rearrangements (as in Italy and Germany), even the casual observer no longer views parliaments as regular or predictable. Focusing on the parliaments of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Turkey, and Central and Eastern Europe, contributors to this volume try to understand how, when, and why parliaments modify themselves.The editors frame the book in the theoretical questions of how institutionalized bodies accomplish change. They explain the nature of the institutionalizing process and show that as the ability for an organization to fulfill its mission changes (or as the mission itself changes), corresponding adaptation becomes necessary if the institution is to remain viable. The individual case studies amply illustrate how modifications in the governing ideology, the party, the electoral systems, or the character of membership have precipitated change at various times and in various parliaments. Parliaments in the Modern World ultimately demonstrates that it is precisely this ability to change that has kept these organizations vital, responsive, and long-lived.

The 104th Congress, the first in four decades to be Republican-controlled, may prove to have ushered in an era of party dominance by congressional Republicans, or to be a transitory aberration. Either way, the 104th is a watershed in congressional history. Using the theatre metaphor to characterize the actions of Congress and to help make the institution more understandable, Congressional life and behaviour is dissected and placed in the broader context of changes in Congress in the 1990s. The contributors evaluate the way members of Congress play to the media and the larger audience, the electorate; analyze leadership roles in a cast of 535 'leading players'; evaluate the committee systems as 'little theatre'; and analyze relations among the various branches of government. Herbert Weisberg and Samuel Patterson conclude the presentation by reminding us that in Congress, 'the play's the thing'.

The 104th Congress, the first in four decades to be Republican-controlled, may prove to have ushered in an era of party dominance by congressional Republicans, or to be a transitory aberration. Either way, the 104th is a watershed in congressional history. Using the theatre metaphor to characterize the actions of Congress and to help make the institution more understandable, Congressional life and behaviour is dissected and placed in the broader context of changes in Congress in the 1990s. The contributors evaluate the way members of Congress play to the media and the larger audience, the electorate; analyze leadership roles in a cast of 535 'leading players'; evaluate the committee systems as 'little theatre'; and analyze relations among the various branches of government. Herbert Weisberg and Samuel Patterson conclude the presentation by reminding us that in Congress, 'the play's the thing'.

The Handbook of Legislative Research, a comprehensive summary of the results of research on nineteenth and twentieth-century legislatures, is itself a landmark in the evolution of legislative studies. Gathered here are surveys by leading scholars in the field, each providing inventory of an important subfield, an extensive bibliography, and a systematic assessment of what has been accomplished and what directions future research must take.