About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

20 British J. Pol. & Int'l Rel. 3 (2018)

handle is hein.journals/bhjlplcs20 and id is 1 raw text is: Special ssue Artie Political Studies B J P IR The British Journal of Politics and International Relations Parliam ents in security policy: 2018V0(038 © The Author(s) 2018 Involvem ent, politicisation, Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav and influence DOI: 10.1177/1369148117745684 journals.sagepub.com/home/bpi OSAGE Patrick A Mello' and Dirk Peters2 Abstract While parliaments have long been neglected actors in the analysis of security policy, a research literature on the subject is growing. Current research is focused primarily on how parliaments, relying on formal legal competences, can constrain governmental policies. However, this research needs expansion in three areas. First, informal sources of parliamentary influence on security policy deserve more systematic attention as the significance of parliaments often hinges on contextual factors and individual decision-makers. Second, we still lack a systematic understanding of the effects of parliamentary involvement on security policy. Finally, the role of parliaments for the politics of security is almost completely uncharted territory. When parliaments become involved in security policy, does it foster transparency and contribute to the politicisation of security policy so that security policy becomes a 'normal' political issue? The article reviews current research, derives findings from the contributions to this Special Issue, and spells out their wider implications. Keywords democratic peace, legislative studies, parliaments, security policy, war powers Introduction: Parliaments in security policy-Why bother? Parliament is the pivotal democratic institution. Yet, despite a large body of research on the democratic peace thesis and the significance of democracy for security policy-and an equally sized literature on legislatures-the relationship between parliaments and security policy is not well understood.1 Research on the democratic peace thesis has established that a linkage exists between shared democracy inside states and peaceful relations between them. While democracies are as war-prone as non-democracies, there are almost no wars between consolidated democracies. According to an influential explanation for the democratic peace, democratic institutions play a causal role in the 'Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany & Bavarian School of Public Policy, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany 2Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Corresponding author: Patrick A Mello, Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Nordhauserstr. 63 / B39, Erfurt 99089, Germany. Email: patrick.mello@uni-erfurt.de

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most