The representative assembly, or parliament, as it is most widely called, is at once an old, a ubiquitous, and a controversial political institution. In this century it has attracted the criticism of both disillusioned democrats and true believers in the superior representatives of mass movements or of charismatic leaders. Even among its supporters the institution is constantly the object of reform. This book deals with parliament (the generic term for what also may be known as legislature, congress, assembly, diet, or knesset), what it has been and is, what it does and should do, and what may become of it. In a wide-ranging and excellently organized introductory essay, Loewenberg defines the parliamentary institution and discusses its role in modern times. He points out that since its appearance in the Middle Ages, the parliamentary system has been adopted by almost every country, including in recent years the newly independent nations of Africa and the Middle East. This essay is followed by differing and often contradictory views, by American and European scholars, of the role of a parliament. Issues are defined in the form of examinations of specific parliamentary bodies, such as the House of Commons, the Bundestag, the French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, and the Indian Parliament. Writing from the perspective of different national experiences, the contributors display varied perceptions and expectations of the institution, noting those that sustain it even while they make it controversial. Intended primarily as provocative reading for students of comparative government and comparative political institutions; this book illuminates "one of the most enduring and widely applicable inventions of political man, thus making it also a valuable work for scholars as well as practitioners of the political and party process.

On Legislatures looks at why people support their individual representatives but continue to criticise the legislative system at every opportunity. Although legislatures exist in every political system and are meant to represent the people, they are generally disparaged because they appear both unrepresentative and indecisive. Gerhard Loewenberg explains this puzzling contradiction by examining what representation means and what it takes for a large number of equally representative members to reach decisions. It also describes the methods for studying legislatures that have been developed in the social sciences in the last half century and shows their importance in democratic societies throughout the world. On Legislatures gets to the heart of the current disconnect between legislatures and the public they are supposed to represent.

The representative assembly, or parliament, as it is most widely called, is at once an old, a ubiquitous, and a controversial political institution. In this century it has attracted the criticism of both disillusioned democrats and true believers in the superior representatives of mass movements or of charismatic leaders. Even among its supporters the institution is constantly the object of reform. This book deals with parliament (the generic term for what also may be known as legislature, congress, assembly, diet, or knesset), what it has been and is, what it does and should do, and what may become of it.

In a wide-ranging and excellently organized introductory essay, Loewenberg defines the parliamentary institution and discusses its role in modern times. He points out that since its appearance in the Middle Ages, the parliamentary system has been adopted by almost every country, including in recent years the newly independent nations of Africa and the Middle East. This essay is followed by differing and often contradictory views, by American and European scholars, of the role of a parliament. Issues are defined in the form of examinations of specific parliamentary bodies, such as the House of Commons, the Bundestag, the French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, and the Indian Parliament.

Writing from the perspective of different national experiences, the contributors display varied perceptions and expectations of the institution, noting those that sustain it even while they make it controversial. Intended primarily as provocative reading for students of comparative government and comparative political institutions; this book illuminates "one of the most enduring and widely applicable inventions of political man, thus making it also a valuable work for scholars as well as practitioners of the political and party process.

On Legislatures looks at why people support their individual representatives but continue to criticise the legislative system at every opportunity. Although legislatures exist in every political system and are meant to represent the people, they are generally disparaged because they appear both unrepresentative and indecisive. Gerhard Loewenberg explains this puzzling contradiction by examining what representation means and what it takes for a large number of equally representative members to reach decisions. It also describes the methods for studying legislatures that have been developed in the social sciences in the last half century and shows their importance in democratic societies throughout the world. On Legislatures gets to the heart of the current disconnect between legislatures and the public they are supposed to represent.

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.

Although a great deal is known about the United States Congress, the differences and similarities between it and the legislatures and parliaments of other countries have not been extensively studied. This book--by a distinguished group of legislative specialists from ten countries--fills this gap by presenting legislative research from a comparative, cross-national perspective.
Consisting of fourteen essays, this volume incorporates major areas of legislative research, including studies of recruitment of legislators and an overview of their careers, the evolution of legislatures, and the electoral systems by which legislatures are chosen. Each contributor reviews the principal research findings and emphasizes those concepts and methods that facilitate comparative research. The book assesses the state of knowledge in regard to U.S., European, Asian, and Latin American legislatures. The introductory chapter by the editors identifies how to comparatively test research findings while taking into account data availability and questions of conceptual equivalence. Each chapter provides an extensive bibliography, making the book an excellent guide to literature on legislative research. The contributors are David T. Canon, John M. Carey, Gary W. Cox, Frantisek Formanek, John R. Hibbing, Ewa Karpowicz, Junko Kato, Sadafumi Kawato, Michael Laver, Gary F. Moncrief, Chan Wook Park, Werner J. Patzelt, Bjorn Erik Rasch, Kenneth A. Shepsle, Steven S. Smith, and Rick K. Wilson.
This book is designed for faculty and graduate students in political science and will also be of interest to members of legislative research staffs in this country and overseas, and to specialists on legislatures in history and law.
Gerhard Loewenberg is University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor of Political Science. D. Roderick Kiewiet is Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Political Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. Peverill Squire is Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa.