IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/polstu/v54y2006i3p465-485.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Testing the Decline of Parliament Thesis: Ireland, 1923–2002

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Elgie
  • John Stapleton

Abstract

There is a long‐standing argument that in Westminster‐style systems parliaments are in decline. The frequency with which the head of government intervenes in parliament is one indicator of this supposed decline. Studies conducted in Britain and Canada show that the frequency of prime ministerial interventions has declined over time, suggesting that the decline of parliament thesis holds true in this regard at least. This article examines the Irish case and shows that the situation is different. As in Britain and Canada, there has been a decline in particular forms of activity. However, the overall level has increased over time. These findings suggest that in the Irish case at least and on the basis of this one indicator the decline of parliament thesis does not hold true. Moreover, when we contextualise the findings, particularly on the basis of a qualitative analysis of the changing nature of the presentation of the Order of Business over the last 30 years, we find that the decline of parliament thesis is weakened further. Thus, this article suggests that the decline of parliament thesis is not applicable to all examples of Westminster‐style parliamentary systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Elgie & John Stapleton, 2006. "Testing the Decline of Parliament Thesis: Ireland, 1923–2002," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 54(3), pages 465-485, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:polstu:v:54:y:2006:i:3:p:465-485
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00611.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00611.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1467-9248.2006.00611.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burnham, June & Jones, G. W. & Elgie, Robert, 1995. "The Parliamentary Activity of John Major, 1990–94," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(4), pages 551-563, October.
    2. Dunleavy, Patrick & Jones, G. W. & Burnham, Jane & Elgie, Robert & Fysh, Peter, 1993. "Leaders, Politics and Institutional Change: The Decline of Prime Ministerial Accountability to the House of Commons, 1868–1990," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 267-298, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      More about this item

      Statistics

      Access and download statistics

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:polstu:v:54:y:2006:i:3:p:465-485. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0032-3217 .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.