Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T13:36:24.577Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Domestic-level Parliamentary Scrutiny and Voting Behaviour in the European Parliament

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2013

Daniel Finke
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Inside the European Parliament political groups reveal levels of voting cohesion similar to that we observe in national parliaments. Faced with a conflict of interests between their national party and their European group, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) surprisingly often prioritize the latter principal over the former. In this article, I argue that domestic-level parliamentary scrutiny can have a tremendous impact on MEPs’ loyalties. Using data on the voting behaviour of German and Czech MEPs, I find that, under scrutiny, MEPs from governing parties are significantly more likely to vote against the instructions of their group leadership. The effect of domestic-level scrutiny on MEPs from opposition parties is weaker and depends on the dossier's political salience. These results provide further support for the strategic use of parliamentary scrutiny in European Union politics.

Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 207 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Daniel Finke is Junior Professor of Political Science at Heidelberg University. Contact email: [email protected].

References

Auel, K.Benz, A. (2005), ‘The Politics of Adaptation: The Europeanisation of National Parliamentary Systems’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 11(3–4): 372–393.Google Scholar
Bailer, S., Schulz, T.Selb, P. (2009), ‘What Role for the Party Group Leader? A Latent Variable Approach to Leadership Effects on Party Group Cohesion in the European Parliament’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 15(4): 355–378.Google Scholar
Bergman, T. (1997), ‘National Parliaments and EU Affairs Committees: Notes on Empirical Variation and Competing Explanations’, Journal of European Public Policy, 4(3): 373–387.Google Scholar
Bergman, T., Müller, W.C., Strom, K.Blomgren, M. (2003), ‘Democratic Delegation and Accountability: Cross-National Patterns’, in K. Strom, W.C. Müller and T. Bergman (eds), Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies (Oxford: Oxford University Press).Google Scholar
Carey, J.M. (2009), Legislative Voting and Accountability (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Carey, J.M.Shugart, M.S. (1995), ‘Incentives to Cultivate a Personal Vote: A Rank Ordering of Electoral Formulas’, Electoral Studies, 14(4): 417–439.Google Scholar
Cox, G.W.McCubbins, M.D. (2007), Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House, 2nd edn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Deutscher, Bundestag (1980), Geschäftsordnung des Deutschen Bundestages vom 25. Juni 1980 (BGBl. I S. 1237), die zuletzt durch die Bekanntmachung vom 17. Dezember 2010 (BGBl. I S. 2199) (Nr. 66) geändert worden ist. Berlin: Deutscher Bundestag.Google Scholar
Döring, H. (1995), Parliaments and Majority Rule in Western Europe (Frankfurt a.M. and New York: Campus and St Martin's Press).Google Scholar
Faas, T. (2003), ‘To Defect or Not to Defect? National, Institutional and Party Group Pressures on MEPs and their Consequences for Party Group Cohesion in the European Parliament’, European Journal of Political Research, 42(6): 841–866.Google Scholar
Finke, D. (2012), ‘Proposal Stage Coalitions in the European Parliament’, European Union Politics, 23(4): 487–512.Google Scholar
Finke, D.Dannwolf, T. (2013), ‘Domestic Scrutiny and Domestic Politics: Between Whistle Blowing and Opposition Control’, European Journal of Political Research published early online, 27 February, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6765.12014/abstract.Google Scholar
Follesdal, A.Hix, S. (2006), ‘Why there is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik’, Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(3): 533–562.Google Scholar
Hix, S. (2004), ‘Electoral Institutions and Legislative Behavior: Explaining Voting Defection in the European Parliament’, World Politics, 56(2): 194–223.Google Scholar
Hix, S.Marsh, M. (2011), ‘Second-order Effects Plus Pan-European Political Swings: An Analysis of European Parliament Elections across Time’, Electoral Studies, 30(1): 4–15.Google Scholar
Hix, S., Noury, A.Roland, G. (2006), ‘Dimensions of Politics in the European Parliament’, American Journal of Political Science, 50(2): 494–520.Google Scholar
Hix, S., Roland, G.Noury, A. (2007), Democratic Politics in the European Parliament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Holzhacker, R. (2002), ‘National Parliamentary Scrutiny over EU Issues: Comparing the Goals and Methods of Governing and Opposition Parties’, European Union Politics, 3(4): 459–479.Google Scholar
Hoyland, B. (2010), ‘Procedural and Party Effects in European Parliament Roll Call Votes’, European Union Politics, 11(4): 597–613.Google Scholar
Hug, S.König, T. (2002), ‘In View of Ratification: Governmental Preferences and Domestic Constraints at the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference’, International Organization, 56(2): 447–476.Google Scholar
Kreppel, A.Tsebelis, G. (1999), ‘Coalition Formation in the European Parliament’, Comparative Political Studies, 32(8): 933–966.Google Scholar
Lindstädt, R., Slapin, J.B.van der Wielen, R.J. (2011), ‘Balancing Competing Demands: Position Taking and Election Proximity in the European Parliament’, Legislative Studies Quarterly, 36(1): 37–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindstädt, R., Slapin, J.B.van der Wielen, R.J. (2012), ‘Adaptive Behavior in the European Parliament: Learning to Balance Competing Demands’, European Union Politics, 13(4): 465–486.Google Scholar
Linek, L.Lacina, T. (2010), ‘Czech Republic’, European Journal of Political Research, 49(7–8): 939–946.Google Scholar
Lowe, W., Benoit, K., Mikhaylov, S.Laver, M. (2011), ‘Scaling Policy Preferences from Coded Political Texts’, Legislative Studies Quarterly, 36(1): 123–155.Google Scholar
Meserve, S.A., Pemstein, D.Bernhard, W.T. (2009), ‘Political Ambition and Legislative Behavior in the European Parliament’, Journal of Politics, 71(3): 1015–1024.Google Scholar
Poole, K.T.Rosenthal, H. (1991), ‘Patterns of Congressional Voting’, American Journal of Political Science, 35(1): 228–278.Google Scholar
Poslanecka Snemovna (1995), Rules of procedure of the Chamber of Deputies. Act No. 90/1995 Coll. of 19 April 1995, last changes in 2006, www.psp.cz/cgi-bin/eng/docs/laws/1995/90_index.html.Google Scholar
Raunio, T. (2005), ‘Holding Governments Accountable in European Affairs: Explaining Cross-National Variation’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 11(3–4): 319–342.Google Scholar
Saalfeld, T. (2005), ‘Deliberate Delegation or Abdication? Government Backbenchers, Ministers and EU Legislation’, Journal of Legislative Studies, 11(4): 343–371.Google Scholar
Scarrow, S.E. (1997), ‘Political Career Paths and the European Parliament’, Legislative Studies Quarterly, 22(2): 253–263.Google Scholar
Schneider, G., Finke, D.Bailer, S. (2010), ‘Bargaining Power in the European Union: An Evaluation of Competing Game-Theoretical Models’, Political Studies, 58(1): 85–103.Google Scholar
Thomson, R. (2012), Resolving Controversy in the EU (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar
Thomson, R., Achen, C., König, T.Stokman, F. (2006), The EU Decides (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).Google Scholar