This thesis looks into the possibility of assessing legislative performance and democratic quality using performance management frameworks and methods used for organisational development and change and whether measurement of this kind is beneficial to improving democratic quality and the legitimation of the political system in general. Political institutions and in particular legislatures are often immune from the adverse effects of poor performance due to large budget allocations regardless of efficacy. Furthermore a rise in efficiency is often seen as a threat to the institution's accountability. The literature on legislative performance is mainly confined to legislative policy making output which is not necessarily a sign of good performance. Neither is performance only about the consideration of the costs and resource utilisation or the behaviour of actors and individuals in the policy making process as dependent variables. As mentioned such considerations seem rather irrelevant to the performance of legislative outcomes since legislatures usually do not have budgetary or spending concerns as in the private sector.

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The public face of any organisation may not necessarily reflect the entirety of an organisation. There may be a highly developed infrastructure and knowledge of this infrastructure may be necessary to understand how the organisation actually operates. There may be a formal one and there may be an informal one. Informal groups and norms may develop that impact on the organisation and serve to shape its public face. Understanding an organisation may thus entail looking beyond the public persona and examining not only its formally created component parts but also its unofficial parts. This is especially so in the case of political parties and the Conservative Party, as the most successful party in British history, is no exception. Such groupings have existed within the Party for as long as the Party itself has been in existence and as such have come into being for a wide range of reasons. While a number have emerged simply as an excuse for a good dinner with like-minded colleagues, others have sought to shape the political agenda and affect outcomes by supporting a specific event, policy or direction of the Party. As a result, unofficial groupings have come to represent a microcosm of not only the chronology of the Conservative Party but also the wider political environment over the last century and more. Thus the introduction of tariff reform, the 1911 Parliament Act, independence for Ireland, India and the countries of Africa, both First and Second World Wars, the Suez Crisis and more recently debate concerning the future direction of Europe and indeed reform of the Party itself have all resulted in the formation of one or more unofficial grouping. This thesis examines all these, and more, within its three broad aims which are in turn derived largely from the fact that current academic literature on the subject matter is so sparse. The first of these aims is to compile a comprehensive list of such groupings while the second is to provide a broad historical descriptive account of groupings in terms of who they are, what they do and relations between themselves and with others. The third and final aim is itself a tripartite one which undertakes further analysis in terms of, firstly, the roles these groupings fulfil within the Party together with, secondly, an evaluation of their place in history, and where relevant the consequences of this, and, lastly, the devising of a typology within which past, present and future groupings may be placed.

This thesis analyses the Europeanization of national environmental agencies by assessing the impact of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its main environmental information and observation network, the Eionet, on three of its member countries, namely Germany, France and Britain. The EEA began its work in 1994. It established the Eionet to institutionalize cooperation with member countries from which it obtains environmental data required for its work. This thesis assesses the German Umweltbundesamt (UBA), French Agence de l’Environnement at de la Maîtrise de l’Energie (ADEME) and Institut Français de l’Environnement (Ifen) as well as the Environment Agency (EA) of England and Wales. The different national arrangements for Eionet participation are explained and the question of whether the creation of the EEA and national participation in the Eionet had a significant impact on the national environmental administrations in the three case countries is scrutinised. It is argued that all national environmental agencies assessed in this thesis have been affected by Europeanization, although to different degrees. This thesis draws heavily on historical institutionalism and Europeanization theories when 'testing' three hypotheses. Unpublished new empirical findings are also presented. This thesis argues that the EEA‘s impact on its member countries has, overall, remained very limited which explains the continued divergence between national environmental agencies. These findings are in line with historical institutionalist explanations. The only exception is the French Ifen which was set up as an independent agency in direct response to the creation of the EEA. As explained in the thesis, the French exceptionalism was, however, short-lived and largely driven by domestic (rather than EU-level) factors. This thesis provides new empirical material and analytical insights into the cooperation of national environment agencies and the EEA within the network of Heads of European Environment Protection Agencies (EPA network).

The aim of this thesis is to examine the effects of ASEAN’s non-interference principle towards managing conflicts, with special reference to Malaysia during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s premiership from 1981-2003. The core of the study focuses on the genesis of this principle, Malaysia’s understanding of the principle and the effects that this doctrine has towards managing inter and intrastate political and security conflicts. To elaborate on these focal points, five objectives are set in order to reveal the background behind the principle of non-interference, the effects that it had on Malaysia and the reasons why Malaysia should try to amend this principle for the betterment of the country specifically and for ASEAN as a whole. The results of this study reveal that Malaysia has been affected by the implementation of this principle; however, the complex composition of her citizenry and the embedded preferential treatment policy towards the Bumiputeras has stopped Malaysia from altering its support towards the principle in order to make Malaysia and ASEAN, as a whole, more relevant. Firstly, it is revealed that every country in ASEAN has their own reasons behind the embracement of this principle, which makes it difficult for them to change such their perceptions. The history behind the establishment of ASEAN and the nature of the Association itself means it is in the best interest of every member state that the principle should be protected. Secondly, many events have challenged this principle, thus giving the opportunity for member states to rethink their position towards their adherence to the principle. The Asian financial crisis, the Haze problem, the Myanmar factor, and intrastate conflicts in Thailand and the Philippines have asked considerable questions about the effectiveness of this principle in managing regional crises. Thirdly, it is discussed that Malaysia does not have an official interpretation of what constitutes non-interference, thus making it hard for the administration to act decisively and consistently. This has resulted in inconsistency in policy implementation, the inability to resolve regional conflicts and the humiliation that the administration faced as a result of inaction. Furthermore, the revelation that Anwar Ibrahim acted alone in proposing the amendments towards the principle explains Malaysia’s hesitance towards any modification of the principle. Fourthly, it is explained that Malaysia historically has been a major player in the region and contributed towards shaping and influencing ASEAN policy making. However, domestic politics and leadership style remain as ambiguous barriers to making a push toward altering the non-interference principle. Finally, the report card on managing regional conflicts, especially when it involves political and security issues, is of some concern, thus making it vital that this principle should be modified to suit today’s challenges. This study proposes a number of reforms to make Malaysia and ASEAN, as a whole, more relevant in facing regional challenges. It is hoped that the study will enlighten the public on the non-interference principle and create awareness and understanding of regional politics.

The focus of this thesis is the impact of the global news media on Nigeria, and the extent to which it has affected Nigeria’s development and international relations. The unprecedented impact of the global news media in recent decades has been conceptualised as perpetuating underdevelopment and inequality in the developing countries. This study develops the idea that the kind of global news that flows into and out of Nigeria, coupled with the access Nigerians and the world have to the news, as well as the way it is packaged, shaped, represented and interpreted, have profound effects on Nigeria. The study integrates both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. It refers to and selects from various theories of International Relations (IR) and Mass Communication. It is apparent that there is a growing perception that the global news media have influenced Nigerian society. The study suggests that the effects of the global media on Nigeria are psychological, sociological, economic, cultural and political. The global news media are believed to be the best instruments for the purpose of stimulating global and transnational economic development and international relations. However, the benefits of media globalisation are unevenly shared and its costs are unevenly distributed, the main beneficiaries being the developed nations, while the developing nations (such as Nigeria) are disadvantaged. The study recommends the promotion and strengthening of the local media in Nigeria.

India has been declared to be a 'Secular State' since 1976, by an amendment to the Constitution, although its supporters claim that it has been one since 1950 when the Constitution was first adopted. From its inception the weaknesses of secularism as an operational category was apparent, but was ignored by politicians as well as by academics. 'Secularism' has since then not been defined in terms of the institutions of the state or the dominant values of the political system. It was given different interpretations by different groups. Even among the ranks of secularists there have been distinct divergences. The Constitution recognizes not only ethnic but also religious minorities and has given them special rights to maintain educational institutions. Similarly caste based privileges were provided on the plea of 'backwardness'. Moreover, India continued to be a religious society although the state claimed to be secular. Some secularists would identify it with anti-religious policies. The Hindu revivalists would identify the state with pro-minority and even anti-Hindu policies. In modern political idiom it was called 'minorityism' and 'pseudosecularism'. The Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, on the other hand, felt that such special rights are essential to maintain their identities. The rise of religions based politics in the eighties has created a major problem for the secular state. In the light of the above 'Secularism' needs to be redefined in clearer terms. Religious syncretism and political and cultural accommodation associated with South Indian tradition where some of this necessary re-definition has been achieved through the process of historical evolution needs be looked into. Similarly, the de-linking of religion from culture in Indonesia and the adoption of a national ideology which can provide some helpful insights for India is worth pursuing. ' Apparently, Malaysia has established a viable democratic state by adopting an inter-communal than an noncommunal approach to its political problems. By taking a comparative look at the problem of secularism, in the light of the experiences of other nations, perhaps, the Indian secular state could face the future with more confidence.

This thesis is a comparative analysis across five Overview and Scrutiny systems within Local Authorities in the North of England. Its aim was to assess the impact and role of the majority political group on the overall system of Scrutiny. The research found that the role of the majority group was the single largest determining influence on the success of Overview and Scrutiny. From the five case study Authorities, it was clear that barring exceptional circumstances (that facilitated an open and amenable attitude towards an independent Scrutiny process) majority groups sought to channel the process and control Scrutiny as much as possible. Majority political groups appeared to be unwilling to allow the process to scrutinise their actions, for a multitude of different reasons. They also resented somewhat an independent process that could forward recommendations onto a policy agenda they felt they had a right to control. Therefore, they used their power as the major group to filter the process so that only outcomes they found acceptable came to be accepted as part of Council policy. In other cases, they sought to ensure that minimal outcomes emerged from the Scrutiny process. With a majority, they were under no obligation to consider its views anymore than they felt necessary and consequently it led to much dissatisfaction amongst members within the process, particularly those from opposition groups. At the crux of the issue appeared to be many experienced leading members who wished to retain as much control and power as possible. They appeared uneasy with allowing an independent process of any kind within the Authority, particularly one with the capacities and potential role that Scrutiny possesses. Devoid of a leadership perspective that understood and accepted the role of Scrutiny, it was only when a system was accustomed to a collaborative approach or was heavily populated with one particular perspective did the leading group appear willing to allow Scrutiny to remain completely independent. The process of Scrutiny unquestionably benefits when an opposition perspective is allowed to lead Scrutiny. The research demonstrated how a process that moved from majority group to opposition group control improved significantly in terms of independence and in terms of its outcomes. However, this practice appeared limited across Local Authorities, with the fear of majority groups greatly limiting the development of strong and independent Scrutiny processes.

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