ABSTRACT

Setting the agenda for parliament is the most significant institutional weapon for governments to shape policy outcomes, because governments with significant agenda setting powers, like France or the UK, are able to produce the outcomes they prefer, while governments that lack agenda setting powers, such as the Netherlands and Italy in the beginning of the period examined, see their projects significantly altered by their Parliaments.

With a strong comparative framework, this coherent volume examines fourteen countries and provides a detailed investigation into the mechanisms by which governments in different countries determine the agendas of their corresponding parliaments. It explores the three different ways that governments can shape legislative outcomes: institutional, partisan and positional, to make an important contribution to legislative politics.

It will be of interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, legislative studies/parliamentary research, governments/coalition politics, political economy, and policy studies.

chapter 1|20 pages

Governments and legislative agenda setting

An introduction

chapter 2|17 pages

Germany

Limited government agenda control and strong minority rights

chapter 3|15 pages

France

Systematic institutional advantage of government in lawmaking

chapter 4|25 pages

Italy

Government alternation and legislative agenda setting

chapter 5|17 pages

United Kingdom

Extreme institutional dominance by the executive … most of the time

chapter 6|16 pages

Hungary

Changing government advantages – challenging a dominant executive

chapter 7|16 pages

The Netherlands

Legislative agenda setting and the politics of strategic lock-in

chapter 8|18 pages

Switzerland

Agenda setting power of the government in a separation-of-powers framework

chapter 9|19 pages

Greece

Government as the dominant player

chapter 10|20 pages

Spain

Majoritarian choices, disciplined party government and compliant legislature

chapter 11|17 pages

Portugal

Limited government and the influential role of parliament

chapter 12|21 pages

Russia

The executive in a leading role

chapter 13|12 pages

Denmark

Agenda control and veto rights to opposition parties

chapter 14|20 pages

Norway

Institutionally weak governments and parliamentary voting on bills

chapter 15|16 pages

Japan

Decades of partisan advantages impeding cabinet's agenda setting power

chapter 16|4 pages

Conclusion