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CONTENTS

List of Figures and Tables = ⅶ

Introduction = 1

1 Parliamentary Government：the Rise of a Concept = 4

2 The Parliamentarisation of Representative Governments = 16

 2.1 Waves of parliamentarisation of the executive = 16

 2.2 Parliamentarisation via the constitutional weapons of parliament = 18

 2.3 Parliamentarisation and democratisation：the struggle for universal suffrage and its impact on parliamentary government = 26

 2.4 The parliamentary system and constitutional engineering = 31

 2.5 Parliamentary government by the constituent power of the people = 35

3 The Organisational Basis of Parliamentary Sovereignty = 38

 3.1 Organisational autonomy = 39

 3.2 Non-hierarchical parliament = 39

 3.3 Non-hierarchical relations in two-chamber systems = 41

 3.4 Social equality among deputies and economic independence = 50

 3.5 The rise of a new hierarchy in parliamentary work：plenary and committee work = 52

 3.6 The steering function of parliamentary groups = 64

4 Functions of Parliaments = 72

 4.1 Representation and articulation of interests = 73

 4.2 Controlling functions = 81

 4.3 The legislative function = 88

 4.4 The recruitment function = 98

5 The Role of the Head of State in Relation to Parliament and Government = 108

 5.1 The creation of a head of state = 110

 5.2 Cohabitation of presidential and parliamentary majorities in semipresidential systems = 111

 5.3 Functions of the head of state in legislation = 117

 5.4 Functions in government building = 122

 5.5 Indications for government formation = 128

 5.6 The process of consultation on government formation = 133

 5.7 The head of state and the routine business of government = 135

 5.8 The head of the state and the end of government = 135

 5.9 Dissolution of parliament by decree of the head of state = 136

6 The Government and Parliamentary Majority = 149

 6.1 Cabinet solidarity = 149

 6.2 The organisational power of government and the proliferation of offices = 150

 6.3 Ministers without portfolio = 154

 6.4 Cabinet hierarchy and ministerial solidarity = 155

 6.5 The office of prime minister = 157

 6.6 The organisational basis of the prime ministerial office = 161

 6.7 Coalition research in the light of rational-choice approaches = 163

 6.8 Oversized coalitions = 169

 6.9 Undersized coalitions and minority governments = 173

 6.10 The dissolution of government by parliamentary vote = 178

 6.11 Non-parliamentary reasons for government termination = 182

 6.12 Conflict in the governing coalition as a reason for government termination = 186

 6.13 Party systems and governmental stability = 186

 6.14 Reasons for government termination and governmental stability = 188

 6.15 Alternating governments = 194

7 Conclusions = 198

 7.1 The consolidation of parliamentary systems = 198

 7.2 Decline of parliament? The changing functions of parliamentary democracy = 211

Notes and References = 217

Bibliography of Comparative Literature = 240

Index = 243