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How legislatures work – and should work – as public space
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Parkinson, John R. (2013) How legislatures work – and should work – as public space. Democratization, Volume 20 (Number 3). pp. 438-455. doi:10.1080/13510347.2013.786544 ISSN 1351-0347.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2013.786544
Abstract
In a democracy, legislatures are not only stages for performances by elected representatives; they are also stages for performances by other players in the public sphere. This article argues that while many legislatures are designed and built as spaces for the public to engage with politics, and while democratic norms require some degree of access, increasingly what are termed “purposive publics” are being superseded by groups who are only publics in an aggregative, accidental sense. The article begins with a conceptual analysis of the ways in which legislatures can be thought of as public spaces, and the in-principle access requirements that follow from them. It then draws on interviews and observational fieldwork in eleven capital cities to discover whether the theoretical requirements are met in practice, revealing further tensions. The conclusions are that accessibility is important; is being downgraded in important ways; but also that access norms stand in tension with the requirement that legislatures function as working buildings if they are to retain their symbolic value. The article ends with two “modest proposals”, one concerning the design of the plazas in front of legislatures, the other concerning a role for the wider public in legislative procedure.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Democratization | ||||
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis | ||||
ISSN: | 1351-0347 | ||||
Official Date: | 2013 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 20 | ||||
Number: | Number 3 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 438-455 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1080/13510347.2013.786544 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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