The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies

Legislatures are political bodies essential to democracy and the rule of law. They present social scientists with numerous intriguing puzzles, with far-reaching implications for our understanding of political institutions. Why, and how, have these ancient assemblies, established in pre-democratic times, survived the transition to mass democracies? How have they adapted? How do they structure such processes as budgeting, legislation, and executive oversight? How do their members get selected, and what consequences flow from differences in these rules? What roles do committees and political parties play in contemporary legislatures? What functions do legislatures perform in autocratic, semi-democratic or recently democratized societies? What explains the similarities and differences in legislative rules, powers and recruitment? What are the policy and other consequences of variation in how legislatures are organized and function?

The 33 chapters in The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies, written by 47 of the most distinguished legislative scholars, provide a comprehensive and up-to-date description and assessment of the state of the art in legislative studies. Key themes explored include theoretical paradigms and methodological approaches to the study of legislatures, representation and legislative careers, internal organization, the role of parties within legislatures and the role of legislatures in policy making and accountability. The Handbook also explores the emergence of parliaments in historical and contemporary contexts, including new democracies and trans-national institutions.

Shane Martin, Reader in Comparative Politics, University of Leicester,Thomas Saalfeld, Professor of Political Science and the founding Director of the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Bamberg,Kaare W. Strom, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego

Shane Martin is Reader in Comparative Politics, University of Leicester.


Thomas Saalfeld is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bamberg and the founding Director of the Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences.


Kaare W. Strom is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego.

1. Introduction, Shane Martin, Thomas Saalfeld and Kaare W. Strom
Part I: Theories
2. Formal Models of Legislatures, Daniel Diermeier
3. The Sociology of Legislatures and Legislators, Heinrich Best and Lars Vogel
4. Typologies and Classifications, Amie Kreppel
Part II: Methods
5. Roll Call Analysis and the Study of Legislatures, Royce Carroll and Keith Poole
6. Words as Data: Content Analysis in Legislative Studies, Jonathan B. Slapin and Sven-Oliver Proksch
7. Debate and Deliberation in Legislatures, Andre Bachtiger
8. Interviews and Surveys in Legislative Research, Stefanie Bailer
9. The Experimental Study of Legislative Behavior, James N. Druckman, Thomas J. Leeper and Kevin J. Mullinix
Part III: Representation and Legislative Careers
10. Candidate Selection: Implications and Challenges for Legislative Behavior, Reuven Hazan
11. The Effect of Electoral Institutions on Legislative Behavior, Audrey Andre, Sam Depauw and Matthew S. Shugart
12. Gender and Legislatures, Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson
13. Roles in Legislatures, Rudy B. Andeweg
14. Legislative Careers, Thad Kousser and Scott A. MacKenzie
Part IV: Organisation and Rules
15. Procedure and Rules in Legislatures, Wolfgang C. Muller and Ulrich Sieberer
16. The Politics of Bicameralism, William B. Heller and Diana M. Branduse
17. Committees, Shane Martin
Part V: Parties in the Legislature
18. Political Parties and Legislators, Thomas Saalfeld and Kaare W. Strom
19. Party Discipline, Christopher Kam
20. Legislative Party Switching, Carol Mershon
21. Legislative Institutions and Coalition Government, Lanny W. Martin and Georg Vanberg
Part VI: Policy Making and Oversight
22. Institutional Foundations of Legislative Agenda Setting, Bjorn-Erik Rasch
23. Law Making, Sebastian M. Saiegh
24. Legislatures and Public Finance, Joachim Wehner
25. Legislatures, Lobbying and Interest Groups, Anne Skorkjaer Binderkrantz
26. Legislatures and Foreign Policy, Tapio Raunio
27. Common Agencya Legislatures and Bureaucracies
Part VII: Expanding the Scope of Legislative Analysis
28. Political Behaviour in the European Parliament, Simon Hix and Bjorn Hoyland
29. Sub-National Legislatures, William Downs
30. The Study of Legislatures in Latin America, Brian F. Crisp and Constanza F. Schibber
31. Legislatures in Central and Eastern Europe, Josephine T. Andrews
32. Authoritarian Legislatures, Paul Schuler and Edmund J. Malesky
33. Reluctant Democrats and their Legislatures, Gary W. Cox