Rationalizing Parliament: Legislative Institutions and Party Politics in France

Description

Rationalizing Parliament examines how institutional arrangements in the French Constitution shape the bargaining strategies of political parties. Professor Huber investigates the decision by French elites to include in the Constitution legislative procedures intended to "rationalize" the policy-making role of parliament and analyzes the impact of these procedures on policy outcomes, cabinet stability, and political accountability. Through its use of theories developed in the American politics literature, the study reveals important similarities between legislative politics in the United States and in parliamentary systems and the shortcomings in conventional interpretations of French institutional arrangements.

From the hardback review: 'The argument is clear and well presented ... and well referenced. This short work is a good text for courses on political institutions and comparative politics, as well as French politics.' John Gaffney, Political Studies