Abstract
This introduction to the volume The Ideal of Parliament in Europe Since 1800 first discusses the recent historiography on the study of parliament as an institution and aspects of parliamentary culture. Next, it presents a brief outline of the rise and the success of parliamentary politics as a model and an ideal in Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A section on parliamentary architecture highlights the ascent of this transnational ideal. Two further sections deal with the ‘crisis of expectations’ that occurred in the later nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century and the remarkable ‘resilience’ of the ideal of parliament, after the Second World War and after 1989. A concluding section points at the intricate nature of parliament, struggling to balance the often-conflicting functions of the political arena, the marketplace and the House as an institution.
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Standard Eurobarometer 88 (Autumn 2017). Public Opinion in the European Union, 12: Europeans and trust in political institutions 2004–2017.
- 2.
Cf. K. Palonen, Parliamentary Thinking: Procedure, Rhetoric and Time (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) 17–39; K. Palonen, ‘Political Theories of Parliamentarism’ in P. Ihalainen, C. Ilie and K. Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism. A Comparative History of a European Concept (New York and Oxford: Berghahn, 2018) 219–227.
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https://euparl.net/; the conference was made possible by a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Studien zum Parlamentarismus (Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag); in this series, among other relevant titles: W.E. Patzelt and S. Dreischer (eds.), Parlamente und ihre Zeit (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2009); W.E. Patzelt (ed.), Parlamente und ihre Evolution. Forschungskontext und Fallstudien (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2012).
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A. Schulz and A. Wirsching (eds.), Parlamentarische Kulturen in Europa. Das Parlament als Kommunikationsraum (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2012); J. Feuchter and J. Helmradt (eds.), Parlamentarische Kulturen vom Mittelalter bis in die Moderne: Reden—Räume—Bilder (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2013); A. Gjuricova et al. (eds.), Lebenswelten der Abgeordneten in Europa 1860–1990 (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2014).
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M.-L. Recker and A. Schulz (eds.), Parlamentarismuskritik und Antiparlamentarismus in Europa (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2018).
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Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism.
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K. Palonen and J.M. Rosales (eds.), Parliamentarism and Democratic Theory. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Opladen, Berlin, Toronto: Barbara Budrich Publishers, 2015) 11; A. Schulz and A. Wirsching (eds.), Parlamentarische Kulturen in Europa. Das Parlament als Kommunikationsraum (Dusseldorf: Droste Verlag, 2012).
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Palonen, Parliamentary Thinking.
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P. Ihalainen, C. Ilie and K. Palonen, ‘Parliament as a Conceptual Nexus’ in Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism, 1–16, esp. 6–8.
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U. Jacobsen and J. Kurunmäki, ‘The Formation of Parliamentarism in the Nordic Countries from the Napoleonic Wars to the First World War’ in Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism, 97–114.
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The history of representative bodies and traditions in: Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism; B. Manin, The Principles of Representative Government (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); J. Keane, The Life and Death of Democracy (London etc.: Simon & Schuster, 2009); M.A.R. Graves, The Parliaments of Early Modern Europe (Harlow and London: Longman, 2001); D. Gerhard (ed.), Ständische Vertretungen in Europa im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1969); H.G. Koenigsberger, Monarchies, States-General and Parliaments in the Netherlands in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001); H. Hofmann, Repräsentation. Studien zur Wort- und Begriffsgeschichte von der Antike bis ins 19. Jahrhundert (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1974); H.F. Pitkin, The Concept of Representation (Berkeley, Cal.: University of California Press, 1967); M. van Gelderen and Q. Skinner (eds.), Republicanism. A shared European Heritage I. Republicanism and Constitutionalism in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002); P. Rosanvallon, La démocratie inachevée. Histoire de la souveraineté du peuple en France (Paris: Gallimard, 2000).
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H. Spoormans, ‘Met uitsluiting van voorregt’. Het ontstaan van liberale democratie in Nederland (Amsterdam: SUA, 1988) identifies four types or paths in the historical development of parliamentary government.
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H. Dippel, ‘Modern Constitutionalism. An introduction to the History in Need of Being Written’ in Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis 73 (2005) 153–170; D. Willoweit and U. Seif (eds.), Europäische Verfassungsgeschichte (Munich: C.H. Beck, 2003); W. Daum et al. (eds.), Handbuch der europäischen Verfassungsgeschichte im 19. Jahrhundert II. 1815–1847 (Bonn: Dietz Verlag, 2012); website The Rise of Modern Constitutions 1776/1849: www.modern-constitutions.de. See also Henk te Velde, ‘Political Transfer. An Introduction’ in European Review of History 12 (2005) 205–221.
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Also see H. Boldt, ‘Parlament, parlamentarische Regierung, Parlamentarismus’ in O. Brunner, W. Conze and R. Koselleck (eds.), Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe. Historisches Lexikon zur politisch-sozialen Sprache in Deutschland 4 (Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1978) 649–676; Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism, part one.
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J. Gilissen, ‘Die Belgische Verfassung von 1831–ihr Ursprung und ihr Einfluss’ in Werner Conze (ed.), Beiträge zur deutschen und belgischen Verfassungsgeschichte im 19. Jahrhundert (Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1967) 38–69.
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M. Saward, The Representative Claim (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010).
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Schulz and Wirsching (eds.), Parlament als Kommunikationsraum; Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism, part two.
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About political architecture in general: Charles T. Goodsell, ‘The Architecture of Parliaments: Legislative Houses and Political Culture’ in British Journal of Political Studies 18 (1988/3) 287–302; N.S. Roberts, ‘Grand Designs: Parliamentary Architecture, Art, and Accessibility’ in Political Science 61 (2009/2) 75–86; D. Sudjic and H. Jones, Architecture and Democracy (London and Glasgow: Lawrence King Publishers, 2001); I. Flagge (ed.), Architektur und Demokratie (Stuttgart: Krämer Verlag, 1992); Stephan Paulus, ‘“Das Baulige Herz der Demokratie”. Parlamentsarchitektur im öffentlichen Raum’ in Schulz and Wirsching (eds.), Parlament als Kommunikationsraum, 389–422; B. Brincker and A.S. Leoussi, ‘Anthony D. Smith and the role of art, architecture and music in the growth of modern nations: a comparative study of national parliaments and classical music in Britain and Denmark’ in Nations and Nationalism 24 (2018) 312–326.
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D. Smit, Het belang van het Binnenhof. Twee eeuwen Haagse politiek, huisvesting en herinnering (Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2015); J. Oddens, Pioniers in schaduwbeeld. Het eerste parlement van Nederland, 1796–1798 (Nijmegen: Vantilt, 2012).
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M. Beyen and R. Röttger, ‘Het streven naar waardigheid. Zelfbeelden en gedragscodes van de volksvertegenwoordigers’ in E. Gerard et al. (eds.), Geschiedenis van de Belgische Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers 1830–2002 (Brussel, 2003) 337–383.
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www.christiansborgpalace.dk; www.folketinget.dk; Smit, Het belang; A. Minta and B. Nicolai (eds.), Parlamentarische Repräsentationen. Das Bundeshaus in Bern im Kontext internationaler Parlamentsbauten und nationaler Strategien (Bern: Peter Lang Publishers, 2014).
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Information about parliament buildings worldwide, see ‘Plenum. Places of Power. A wiki on National Parliament Buildings Worldwide’: www.places-of-power.org; see also ‘Encyclopaedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe’: https://ernie.uva.nl
- 24.
Sudjic and Jones, Architecture and Democracy, 52.
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A review of all the assembly halls in the world in: David Mulder van der Vegt and Max Cohen de Lara, Parliament (Rotterdam: XML, 2016).
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Ph. Manow, In the King’s shadow. The Political Anatomy of Democratic Representation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011) chapter 2; H. te Velde, Sprekende politiek. Redenaars en hun publiek in de parlementaire Gouden Eeuw (Amsterdam: Prometheus, 2015) 15–18.
- 27.
See Recker and Schulz (eds.), Parlamentarismuskritik.
- 28.
M. Mazower, Dark Continent. Europe’s Twentieth Century (London: Penguin, 2001) chapter 1; about anti-parliamentarianism, see: R. Aerts, ‘An Unrewarding Task. Criticism of Parliament and Anti-parliamentarianism: a Historical Review’ in Recker and Schulz (eds.), Parlamentarismuskritik, 25–42; J. Gijsenbergh, ‘Contesting Complaints about Parliamentarism in Western Europe (1918–1939)’ in Ihalainen, Ilie and Palonen (eds.), Parliament and Parliamentarism, 117–140.
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Mazower, Dark Continent, 20–25.
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M. Conway, ‘Democracy in Postwar Western Europe: the Triumph of a Political Model’ in European History Quarterly 32 (2002) 59–84; Mazower, Dark Continent, chapter 9; J.-W. Müller, Contesting Democracy. Political Ideas in Twentieth-Century Europe (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2013).
- 31.
See also J. Gijsenbergh et al. (eds.), Creative Crises of Democracy (Bern etc.: Peter Lang Publishers, 2012).
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Paulus, ‘“Baulige Herz”’, 412–416.
- 33.
D. Judge and C. Leston-Bandeira, ‘The Institutional Representation of Parliament’ in Political Studies 66 (2018) 154–172, esp. 158.
- 34.
Sudjic and Jones, Architecture and Democracy, 94–109 and 141–177; Paulus, ‘“Bauliche Herz”’, 394–411; Smit, Het belang, 213–273; Judge and Leston-Bandeira, ‘Institutional Representation’, 159 and 163.
- 35.
About forms and modes of parliamentary practice: J.Th.J. van den Berg, ‘Het parlement: één instelling, drie instituties’ in: J.Th.J. van den Berg, J.L.W. Broeksteeg and L.F.M. Verhey (eds.), Het parlement. Staatsrechtconferentie 2006 (Nijmegen: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2007); J.Th.J. van den Berg, ‘Eén parlement in vier gedaanten’ in W.J. van Noort et al. (eds.), Organiseren op een breukvlak. Zes opstellen over organisaties in verleden, heden en toekomst (Amsterdam: SISWO, 1993); A. King, ‘Modes of Executive-Legislative Relations: Great Britain, France and West-Germany’ in Legislative Studies Quarterly 1 (1976/1) 11–36; R.B. Andeweg and J. Thomassen, ‘Modes of Political Representation: Towards a new Typology’ in Legislative Studies Quarterly 30 (2005/4) 507–528.
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V. A. Schmidt, Democracy in Europe: the EU and National Polities (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).
- 37.
Saward, Representative claim; Judge and Leston-Bandeira, ‘Institutional representation’; Schmidt, Democracy.
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Aerts, R., van den Berg, J.T.J. (2019). The Ideal of Parliament in Europe Since 1800: Introduction. In: Aerts, R., van Baalen, C., te Velde, H., van der Steen, M., Recker, ML. (eds) The Ideal of Parliament in Europe since 1800. Palgrave Studies in Political History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27705-5_1
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