Studies presented to the international commission for the history of representative and parliamentary institutions 1937–1980

Summary

This article examines the problems faced by the Portuguese Cortes between 1821 and 1823 in attempting to create a constitution. This involved the central issue of whether or not sovereignty resided in the nation or in the person of the king. It led to a polarisation between traditionalists and liberals, although the latter believed that co‐operation between king and Cortes was a precondition for political and social stability. There were also disagreements about whether a royal veto over legislation should be conceded and whether or not a second chamber should be created. A compromise was found over the former, with the Crown receiving a suspensive veto, while a second chamber was rejected. Nevertheless, Portuguese liberals remained divided over the exact role of the Crown within the new constitutional order and that division, combined with the continued strength of traditional forces and external pressures, opened the way for a counterrevolution. Faced with intransigence on the part of the king and the traditionalists, the liberals could only protest by suspending the Cortes. João VI's reply was the declaration of Vila Franca (1823) which proclaimed royal sovereignty and replaced the Constitution of 1822 with one which was only a ‘gift’ from the Crown.     

The Weimar Republic — A failure of representative institutions?

Summary

The Weimar Republic is usually regarded as a theoretically near‐perfect, but practically deeply flawed representative system. Particular features of it, among them the electoral system, producing a large number of splinter parties, and the strong presidency, with emergency powers opening an easy route to authoritarianism, are held to have contributed to the failure of the first German democracy. This article argues that these alleged shortcomings did not or need not have had the damaging consequences attributed to them. It claims that the political system established by the Weimar Constitution was a finely calibrated, if complex system that could have been adequate to the needs of a modern pluralist society, especially if the powerful Länder governments, such as that of Prussia, are also taken into account. It was therefore the deliberate refusal of significant social groups to accept pluralist democracy rather than flaws in the representative system that led to ultimate failure.     

The coordination of policy priorities among regional institutions from the Baltic Sea to the Arctic: the institutions – coordination dilemma

We examine the coordination of policy priorities among the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Council of Baltic Sea States, and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The member states of these groups established these institutions to coordinate their regional cooperation. However, the member states ended up having to coordinate the parallel work of these institutions. This coordination effort influenced their cooperation, creating an institutional coordination dilemma. We analyze how interests, leadership, and identity politics influence this dilemma and how negative, problem-solving, and positive forms of coordination can amend its effects regarding the temporal consistency of policy priorities and their sectoral overlap.     

Perspectives on the study of culture and international politics: From Nihonjinron to the new Asianism∗

Stephanie Lawson, Professor of International Relations at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, considers the role that the concept of “culture” has come to assume in the study of international politics, especially in relation to the Asia‐Pacific region. Much of the cultural nationalist rhetoric associated with the “Nihonjinron” as well as discourses surrounding the “new Asianism” has had two main consequences. One has been to reinforce static perceptions of culture as a marker of essential difference. On the other hand, some obvious instrumental uses to which it has been put by some political elites in the region has generated a great deal of cynicism about the concept. Taking culture seriously requires a different approach—one which stresses the dynamic properties of culture and its potential role in transcending the “East‐West” divide. The original version of this paper was presented at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, St. Antony's College, Oxford, on 29 November 1998.     

Militancy and parliamentary representation in Chile, 1849–79. Notes for a prosopographical study of the chamber of deputies

SUMMARY

This article provides a political and social characterization of Chilean deputies in the second half of the nineteenth century. It covers 11 parliamentary elections ranging from 1849, the first election under a relatively recognizable party system to 1879, the last election before the consequences of the War of the Pacific (1879–84) altered the local political landscape. The study of parliamentarians is based on a prosopography derived from the analysis of 405 deputies, and in this case is limited to three criteria: place of birth, profession or occupation, and age of entry into parliament. The latter criterion is a key one, because the authors focus only on members who joined congress for the first time over a period of 30 years. One of the main hypotheses of this article suggests that from the 1861 election congress experienced changes in its composition, allowing the entrance of actors who had hitherto not been part of congress.     

From the Hague Congress to the Council of Europe: hopes,achievements and disappointments in the parliamentary way to European integration (1948–51)

SUMMARY

This article examines the commitment of many parliamentarians from Western countries after the Second World War in favour of European integration and the role played by the first European representative assembly, the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, from its foundation in 1949 to the resignation of its first president, Paul-Henri Spaak, in 1951. The Hague Congress of May 1948 proposed the creation of an assembly elected by national parliaments which was to be the core of an integration process. The Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, established by the Treaty of London of 5 May 1949, was far from satisfying the promoters of a parliament-led Europe, as the Committee of Ministers was the main decision-making body of the new international organization. The members of the Consultative Assembly (many of whom were leading political figures such as Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Guy Mollet, Georges Bidault, Eamon de Valera, Ugo La Malfa and Ferruccio Parri) made an important contribution, however, to creating a supranational forum of discussion, and the Assembly's proposals led to the Convention on Human Rights, signed in November 1950, and to other European conventions. However, the Assembly was unable to share a common vision about the institutional perspectives of European integration. This article examines how the debate about the political structure of Europe was influenced by national traditions.     

The making of the ‘Basque’ political institutions: the federal association of the representative assemblies during the Liberal Revolution (1793–1833), part II

SUMMARY

In this article Joseba Agirreazkuenaga continues his previous contributions on the development of Basque political institutions. Having followed developments to the end of the Ancien Regime, he analyzes here the process of political and bureaucratic consolidation during a time of political, ideological and military confrontations between supporters of the liberal revolution and those of the counter-revolution, in defence of the old order. This article concludes at the beginning of the long civil war, known as the first Carlist War, in which the Basque Country became one of the focal points of political debate and articulation of the new Spanish liberal state.     

Abstracts of the papers presented at the 47th Conference of the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions (Bilbao, 2–6 September 1997)

SUMMARY

In recent years editions of biographical dictionaries have been launched in Spain in the long Continental European and Anglophone tradition of such works, but so far only for individual regions. They form the indispensable basis for the collective biographies (prosopography) of members of parliament and other political elites.     

Representation and governance in the Netherlands, 1250–1983: materials for a comprehensive history of politics

SUMMARY

Traditionally political history tells the factual story of those who are in power and of those who want to be, often accompanied by studies of the formal expressions of power in the state and its institutions. During the past two decades this ‘old’ history of politics has been renewed and enriched by research from the perspective of political culture. Both in the Netherlands and abroad pioneering studies of political practices, concepts and styles of leadership have resulted from this new approach. In the next few years this cultural angle in the history of politics will be intensified, for instance in research of the understanding and institutionalization of democracy. The recently established research programme ‘Representation and Governance in the Netherlands’ (RGN) at the Institute of Netherlands History wants to take on board this ‘new’ type of political history as well as the ‘old’ variety in order to facilitate both the efforts of those scholars who want to explain cultural traditions and inherited appreciations in the day-to-day routines of politics as well as the work of historians who want to intensify the study of the formation and reach of the state. The RGN project ventures far back through the ages to explore the historicity of political institutions and bureaucratic procedures by opening up materials for analysing both the culture of governance and the practices of politics. In projects that link up the Middle Ages with the twentieth century, from the administrative organization of the counties of Holland and Zeeland during the Hainault period up to and including the establishment and reform of the constitutional state, sources will be recorded and made accessible. The interaction between society and government, often personified by intermediaries such as office-holders, civil servants, journalists, political advisers and the like, will become visible in the many documents to be edited. Upon their publication these sources will enable future researchers to study not only the history of the governing bodies, but also the role that subjects or citizens played or wished to play in shaping the state.     

Barking or biting? Media and parliamentary investigation of right‐wing extremism in the Bundeswehr

Over the winter of 1997–98 Germany was rocked by a series of investigative media reports over right‐wing extremist incidents within its armed forces, painting a disturbing picture of racist violence and neo‐Nazi sympathies in the Bundeswehr. In response to the media reports and the ensuing public outcry, the Bundestag instituted a Committee of Investigation over political extremism in the Bundeswehr. The Committee concluded that, despite the severity of the some of the incidents investigated, most were initiated by extremist individuals who sought to use their military service to further their political goals, but it found no evidence of widespread right‐wing trends within the ranks. This affair proved the value of Germany's wide media freedoms as an inherent element in the stability of the German democracy and enhanced the ‘public watchdog’ function of the German media.     

Sex,lies and rigged returns – the Kerry county parliamentary election of 11 June 1634 and its consequences

The 1634 Kerry county election involved the mis-return by the deputy sheriff of the Protestant father-in-law of the sheriff, rather than the Catholic John FitzGerald, a member of the local gentry. FitzGerald successfully appealed the return and was elected MP; however, the injustice of the original return rankled and, combined with a bitter existing family dispute with FitzGerald’s brother-in-law Patrick FitzMaurice, Lord Kerry and Lixnaw, led to accusations of sexual infidelity and a ruinous case in the Irish equivalent of the English Star Chamber. FitzGerald’s subsequent return in a by-election in 1640 formed part of the downfall of the Irish Lord Deputy, Sir Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford. This study of the 1634 Kerry county election also forces a revision of the accepted view of Wentworth’s conduct of all the elections for that Irish parliament, with consequences for an understanding of the early stages of his deputyship.     

Under the conflicting pressures of the ideals of the era and the burdens of history: Ethnic relations in Estonia, 1918–1925

Abstract

One of the many challenges that Estonia faced when it gained independence was the minority question. The history of certain minorities, above all that of the Baltic Germans, has already been studied fairly intensively. Nevertheless, the scope of all previous studies has been rather narrow (the position of a single minority). This article traces the history of all ethnic minorities in Estonia and views them from a broader perspective. Answers are sought to the following questions: What were the ethnic relations like in Estonia in 1918–1925? Why were they so? Did they change in the course of time? The article is based on the systematic study of Estonian press and archival sources. It constitutes an expanded version of the conclusion of the author's Finnish-language monograph Ajan ihanteiden ja historian rasitteiden ristipaineissa: Viron etniset suhteet vuosina 1918–1925.     

Whatever happened to the rare earths weapon? Critical materials and international security in Asia

In 2008, rare earth minerals (REMs) shot to the top of the international agenda. When China began restricting exports of these critical materials, many claimed it was threatening a “REMs weapon” against the US and Japan. Yet by 2014, the crisis had quickly abated, as China shelved its policies in the face of pressure from consumer governments. This article examines why REMs emerged – and then quickly disappeared – as a threat to international security in Asia. It first conceptualizes the geopolitics of critical materials, before analyzing the politics of the REMs crisis between Japan, China, and the US. It argues that China’s ability to use REMs for diplomatic coercion was inherently weak and is unlikely to pose a similar threat to international security in future years.     

Antithesis – the reconstruction of the African Union for a viable and sustainable solution for the unity of Africans

ABSTRACT

Franz Fanon, the Algerian revolutionary of African descent, once declared: ‘Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it.’ The challenge confronting African researchers on matters related to the Afro-Arab borderlands – regions spanning Tchad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and the Sudan where the African and Arab worlds meet – centre on resolving, reversing and undoing historical denials and inaccuracies. This article critically reviews the falsification of history in this part of Africa, in the Sudan in particular, and the role of the Arab League, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the Organisation of African Unity and its successor the African Union, in addressing the plight of its inhabitants. The article concludes with the recommendation of the creation of a new, culturally based Pan-African organisation able to fill a void and offer redress.     

Principles and main content of an overall solution to the South Vietnam problem — the ten points

Abstract

The late Edgar Snow reported that Mao Tse-tung thought that China perhaps had something to learn from the United States. Mao had referred specifically to the matter of decentralization and to the long history of American federalism with its flexible division of power between a central government and the states.     

The making of the Basque political and representative institution (1853–1874), Part IV

SUMMARY

During the liberal revolution in Spain the national parliament was formed. In the Basque provinces some aspects of the Historical Foral law remained in force, like the provincial representative assemblies, and in the same period the New Foral Law emerges. This paper analyses the dialectical and problematic relation between the Spanish and Basque public political powers before the dissolution of the representative assemblies in 1877.     

The limits of agency: Emily Hobhouse’s international activism and the politics of suffering

Abstract

This article pieces together the activism of the British welfare worker and feminist-pacifist Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926) during two largely unrecorded episodes of transnational activism: firstly, her ministry of Cornish miners in Virginia, Minnesota, in the United States; and secondly, her interventions during the period of reconstruction following the South African War (1899–1902). The article endeavors to contextualize Hobhouse’s activism and offer a broader understanding of the limitations and restraints on her actions. Ultimately, her activism required a platform that was in the gift of political actors and establishment figures, and dependent on fluctuations within specific political and bureaucratic situations. Based on close inspection of undocumented material in both South African and British archives, the article investigates Hobhouse’s repertoire of missionary and philanthropic roles within a wider context of humanitarian politics. It demonstrates how women’s activism and their behind-the-scenes politicking informed political decision-making in modern imperial and international affairs.     

The interplay between formal and informal institutions in Turkey: the case of the Fethullah Gülen community

Supporters of the Fethullah Gülen community, an informal institution with an influential role in Turkish political life, have formed an international chain of schools and student dormitories, and a communications web that includes newspapers, journals, television and radio channels, as well as other companies and finance institutions. Although the community has no formal structure, its followers have established these formal institutions to integrate it into formal systems like education and the economy. This paper focuses on the community's educational organizations to argue that, since the community has preferred to pursue its goals within Turkey's existing formal framework, rather than by challenging it or breaking its rules, it can be defined as an accommodating informal institution rather than complementary, competing or substitutive.     

‘Into the custody of the Serjeant at Arms’: inducing parliamentary attendance in Dublin and Westminster, 1690–1859

Parliamentary attendance could be quite problematic before the advent of modern political parties. For more than a century after the Glorious Revolution both the English/British and Irish Houses of Commons sought to address this challenge by ordering the Serjeant at Arms to take into custody hundreds of absent Members of Parliament (MPs). The extraordinary expedient of turning parliament into a prison, albeit of the softest variety imaginable, did not solve the attendance problem. On the contrary, it became considerably worse after both Houses adopted new rules for adjudicating controverted elections in the late eighteenth century. Nevertheless, the willingness to employ this distasteful and rather ineffective weapon quickly dwindled. The last arrest order for unauthorized absence came in 1859, 112 years before the final occasion on which Westminster was forced to adjourn business for want of MPs.