Historical Parliamentarism: Early Instances, Evolution, and Constitutional Design

The “negative” archetype of parliamentarism, where the government remains in power as long as the majority chooses not to remove it, is today based on the experience of only a few countries (for example, the Scandinavian countries), where the principle of assembly confidence took roots over a relatively long period of time and under restricted political competition.

Yet, the expansion of parliamentarism to more countries, coupled with the crises experienced by the older parliamentary systems of Western Europe in the course of the 20th century, has led to the progressive transformation of parliamentarism. Most parliamentary systems were established under considerably more contentious political conditions and included institutional features that were absent in the early models. As a result, a varied range of institutions became standard instruments of “positive” parliamentary design.

In this workshop, we aim to bring together researchers from the social sciences, humanities and constitutional law to discuss the ways in which parliamentary institutions have emerged in different settings. How, when and why did various countries get parliamentary practices or parliamentary constitutions?

The workshop is open with regard to theoretical and methodological approaches, as well as geographical coverage. Paper proposals that approach single case-studies or a small number of cases from a historical perspective are particularly welcome.

Paper proposals, including a brief abstract, should be sent to the organizers. The deadline for proposals is 15 March 2015.There will be no registration fees. Lunches and a workshop dinner will be provided. Unless otherwise agreed, participants are expected to take care of their own travel and accommodation expenses.

Published Jan. 23, 2015 11:24 AM - Last modified June 5, 2015 11:06 AM