Suchergebnisse

LEGISLATURES ARE UBIQUITOUS AND HAVE CONSEQUENCES FOR POLITICAL SYSTEMS. THE FOCUS OF ANALYSIS HAS TYPICALLY BEEN THE ROLE OF THE LEGISLATURE IN AFFECTING POLICY OUTCOMES IN AN ESTABLISHED POLITY. OPPORTUNITIES FOR ANALYZING THE ROLE OF LEGISLATURES IN REGIME TRANSITIONS HAVE BEEN LIMITED. THE TRANSITION FROM COMMUNIST REGIMES TO NEW DEMOCRACIES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE PROVIDES A RICH FIELD FOR ANALYSIS. THIS PAPER PROVIDES THE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS, IDENTIFYING TWO KEY VARIABLES IN CONSTITUTION MAKING THE SPECIFIC EXPERIENCES OF A NATION AND BORROWING FROM FOREIGN PRACTICE AND THREE SETS OF VARIABLES IN DETERMINING LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY: THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT, INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS, AND POLICY ATTRIBUTES.

APPLYING THE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK OUTLINED IN THE INTRODUCTION, THIS PAPER FINDS THAT IN THE NEW DEMOCRACIES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE BORROWING FROM THE OLD REGIME RATHER THAN FROM WESTERN EXPERTISE IS PREDOMINANT IN CONSTITUTION MAKING AND THAT THE POLICY ACTIVITY OF THE NEW PARLIAMENTS IS SHAPED PREDOMINANTLY BY EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. THE FLUID NATURE OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND LIMITED PRESSURE GROUP ACTIVITY FACILITATE POLICY ACTIVITY AT THE EXPENSE OF "RESPONSIBLE" PARTY GOVERNMENT. POLICY ATTRIBUTES ARE SHAPED BY THE STANCE TOWARD THE OLD REGIME. A PROCESS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION IS APPARENT, WITH GREATER ACTIVITY, COMMITTEE SPECIALIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL SOPHISTICATION.