Suchergebnisse

Interviews with legislators in 4 US states indicate that some of them become specialists in important subject-matter fields. The member-specialist functions as a communication channel to the society: he simplifies for his fellows the complexities of admin've, sci'ific, educ'al, legal & fiscal problems. This informal expertise system develops alongside the standing committee system despite the difficulty experienced by an elective body in recruiting, training & retaining specialists. It persists apparently because the members need the assistance of someone who (1) has a greater knowledge than they of the matters they regulate but (2) is one of their ingroup & subject to pressures they experience & understand. The appearance of this informal division of labor throws into question the theory that the legislator in a system of separation of powers should & does act primarily as the generalist, the layman & the omnicompetent representative. AA-IPSA.

Most case studies of pressure groups do little more than describe the qualities, properties or activities of some of these groups, taking for granted the persons they press upon. A too-simple `group approach' to the legislative process, however, implies an unrealistic conception of legislator's behavior & of the resultant character of the legislative process. Role theory provides a more appropriate & useful model & suggests that legislators' role conceptions constitute a determining factor in pressure politics at least as important as the characteristics of pressure groups themselves, the individual group affiliations &identifications of legislators, or the peculiarities of personality &personal whim of those legislators. Role conceptions can usefully be made the focal point of comparative &analytical study, &can provide answers to the basic questions of institutional structure, mechanics &process to which pol'al sci could profitably redirect its attention. IPSA.