ABSTRACT
If factions represent the partisan organization of a parliament, standing
committees are its ‘professional’ institution – a specialized division of labour
for the preparation and/or oversight of legislation, as well as other organizational
functions. As such, scholars have widely recognized the central importance of an
institutionalized committee system for a well-developed, effective parliament
(e.g. Longley and Davidson 1998). The aim of this chapter is to explore the
changing role of committees in the Verkhovna Rada and assess the extent of
institutionalization during the 1990-2002 period. The approach is informed by
the established literature on committees (see Chapter 1), directing the inquiry to
consider the impact of their structure and composition upon committees’
activities. The second dimension of the study is concerned with development
and change over time. Here, as in the preceding chapters on factions, the concept
of institutionalization derived from the work of Huntington (1968: 12-24) and
Polsby (1990: 138-41) is utilized. The assessment of organizational complexity,
coherence and autonomy is based on criteria appropriate to the functions
performed by committees identified in the study of other legislatures. These
include the permanence of committee organization and policy jurisdiction, the
extent of internal differentiation, stability in leadership and membership, and
differentiation from party (faction) and government control (Olson et al. 1998:
102). Furthermore, there is an overarching concern with the changing capacity
of committees to perform the functions designated to them by the Verkhovna
Rada and a sensitivity to its specific circumstances and features. Therefore, the
approach will be broadly inductive and exploratory. The chapter is structured
thematically across the 12-year period to highlight the structural and agential
patterns of continuity and the problems that transcended convocations.
