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Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This thesis explores the circumstances under which party discipline damages parliamentary democracy in the Canadian House of Commons. It uses omnibus budget implementation legislation as a case study of an instance when party discipline damages parliamentary democracy. While party discipline is central to parliamentary democracy, it can also undermine it if imposed too strictly. This thesis establishes a model of parliamentary democracy in which the House of Commons is meant to scrutinize, deliberate on, and occasionally amend legislation. It then identifies omnibus budgets as a trend in Canada through the following data on budget bills: number of pages, number of amendments, and length of debate. Finally, this thesis describes three key ways that omnibus budget legislation damaged the model of parliamentary democracy outlined at the beginning. The passage of omnibus budget legislation is a perfect illustration of the “parliamentary decline” thesis and provides a useful departure for future efforts at the reform of parliament to enhance the role of backbench members.

Among commentators and Parliamentarians in both Britain and New Zealand, petitioning has been viewed as an ineffective means of influencing Government. Yet this opinion has never been verified with data on the outcome of petition campaigns. Such data was available to this study for petitions considered in New Zealand between 1969 and 1983. It was analysed and revealed that less than one in twelve petitions were actioned in any way. In addition it was found that none of the petition characteristics tested were significantly associated with the success of petitions. Similarly it was found that a petition's chances of success were not significantly affected by the way it was considered. Few variables changed appreciably over time. These findings are laid out in detail in chapters four and five, and are summarized at the start of the conclusion. The conclusion also contains a discussion of this study's limitations and a tentative exploration of two questions suggested by this study. Specifically, factors which may contribute to petition ineffectiveness, and to the continued popularity of petition organization despite their ineffectiveness, are suggested.

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Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Breslau.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-234).

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This thesis examines the interplay between community development and local government modernisation as practised in three neighbouring London Boroughs in the East and South East of London. By using qualitative approaches to research the field, including ethnography and semi-structured interviews with a range of statutory and community practitioners, the research seeks to examine a variety of stakeholder perspectives. ‘Community development’ in its UK context over recent decades has, as a distinct process, skill set and discipline, attempted to realise the potential of regeneration programmes and address the democratic deficit found in local government. It therefore reflected many of the main concerns of New Labour modernisation policies, appearing to be well placed to make a strong contribution to ameliorating social ills. There is recognition in this research that whilst government policy demonstrably changed some local structures, the corollary of actual community empowerment cannot be guaranteed or assumed. Through the testimony of local politicians, councillors, activists, managers and Community Development Workers the research examines the extent to which the principles and practice of community development were able to support modernisation as a programme of social reform and the wider factors that shaped the efficacy and transmission of policy. The reflexivity of the researcher as a community development practitioner with twenty years experience adds a deep and especially close engagement with the material. The researcher as a practitioner passionately wants to know ‘what works’ in relation to a shifting, often contradictory field of policy. By using ethnographic methods this research examines the concrete experiences and spaces in which community development and modernising reforms take place.

The Swedish Miljöpartiet- De Gröna is a green party which derives from radical social movements with a high emphasis on criticism against the traditional political system and political party structure. Their long journey to become a part of government in Sweden suggests that some ideological sacrifice could have been made to condition themselves as a traditional party with the objective to gain electoral success. As earlier studies have concluded this is a common phenomenon in green parties around the world when they attempt to enter parliaments.  The consequences of ideological change are both conflicts within the party and when their continued focus is unclear to the voters and members of the party, they risk losing core voters and members. This study was conducted as a qualitative idea analysis of the ideological base of the party’s program with a perspective of changes over time. With the aim to find what has ideologically been lost and what might have been added.  The conclusion consists of ambivalent findings, with both a change of core elements and a preservation of the ideological base.