ABSTRACT
In this concluding chapter I focus on offering a general explanation for the global decline of legislative power, based upon the contributions in the edited volume. This chapter identifies six sets of factors mentioned in this volume that have contributed to this decline—historical legacies, institutional design; economic factors; external factors; political polarization; the personalization of the politics; and political accidents. Based upon these factors I identify the “building blocks” of a theoretical framework that explains legislative declined, that includes both “exogeneous” and “endogeneous” factors. In terms of exogenous factors this chapter also argues that the engine that is driving the weakening of legislative power is the effect of globalization. There are two causal mechanisms that can be identified for this trend. First, globalization and economic integration now require quicker reactions to changing events, which legislatures are not equipped to do (this is certainly illustrated by the case of Slovenia). Further, globalization has led to a greater sense of cultural identity threat, the rise of populism, and greater polarization over the nature of the state. Polarization, and zero-sum politics, weakens the institution that is designed for deliberation—the national legislature. However, the extent to which this process plays out is mitigated by a set of four endogeneous factors: historical legacies, economics, institutions, and leadership personalities. The chapter concludes by suggesting a theoretical framework to understand the exogeneous and endogeneous factors that contribute to legislative decline, and potentially, legislative revival.
