A Struggle for Institutionalization: the Tunisian Assemblée des Répresentants du Peuple and the Dominance of Consensus-Oriented Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Chahd Bahri ◽  
Jan Claudius Völkel
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Major Transformation

Abstract This article is part of the Special Issue “Parliaments in the Middle East and North Africa: A Struggle for Relevance.” Tunisia’s parliament has undergone a remarkable internal transformation process since 2011, from a formerly mostly irrelevant institution to an influential locus of policy-making. This successful progress notwithstanding, the parliament’s transformation to a democratic assembly has not been fully concluded yet. A main challenge is that the legislature still shows a number of characteristics of an “authoritarian parliament”: besides a lack of staff and financial resources, the continuous dominance of personal kinship over institutionalized power structures remains particularly problematic.While private networks of individual decision-makers were perceived as crucial for Tunisia’s stability during the turbulent post-revolution years, they concomitantly contain the risk for a resurrection of former authoritarian structures. The article thus traces the Tunisian parliament’s major transformation steps from a former irrelevant legislature to a consolidated, influential assembly, and points out the still existing challenges.

scholarly journals Parliaments in security policy: Involvement, politicisation, and influence

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick A Mello ◽  
Dirk Peters
Keyword(s):  
Security Policy ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Individual Decision ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Systematic Understanding

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.

scholarly journals Shopping Centres, Cycling Accessibility and Planning—The Case of Nova Lund in Sweden

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Till Koglin ◽  
Lucas Glasare
Keyword(s):  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Shopping Centre ◽  
The Past ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
The Subject

This paper evaluates the history and cycling accessibility of Nova, a shopping centre established in Lund, Sweden, in 2002. The current situation was also analysed through observation and a literature review. Moreover, the study conducted a closer analysis of the history and role of the municipality based on further literature study and interviews with officials. The conclusion of the analysis indicates poor and unsafe bikeways caused by conflicts of interest between politicians, officials, landowners and the general public. It also depicts a situation in which the municipality’s master plan has been ignored, and, in contrast to the local goals, cycling accessibility at Nova has seen no significant improvement since the shopping centre was first established. The reasons for this, arguably, are a relatively low budget for bikeway improvements in the municipality, as well as a situation in which decision-makers have stopped approaching the subject, as a result of the long and often boisterous conflicts it has created in the past. Lastly, it must be noted that it is easy to regard the whole process of Nova, from its establishment to the current situation, as being symptomatic of the power structures between drivers and cyclists that still affect decision-makers at all levels.

scholarly journals Development of Food Chemistry, Natural Products, and Nutrition Research: Targeting New Frontiers

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonello Santini ◽  
Nicola Cicero
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Food Chemistry ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Novel Foods ◽  
Chemistry Research ◽  
Nutrition Research ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Therapeutic Tools ◽  
Novel Applications ◽  
Environmentally Friendly Approach

The Special Issue entitled: “Development of Food Chemistry, Natural Products, and Nutrition Research” is focused on the recent development of food chemistry research, including natural products’ sources and nutrition research, with the objectives of triggering interest towards new perspectives related to foods and opening a novel horizon for research in the food area. The published papers collected in this Special Issue are studies that refer to different aspects of food, ranging from food chemistry and analytical aspects, to composition, natural products, and nutrition, all examined from different perspectives and points of view. Overall, this Special Issue gives a current picture of the main topics of interest in the research and proposes studies and analyses that may prompt and address the efforts of research in the food area to find novel foods and novel applications and stimulate an environmentally-friendly approach for the re-use of the by-products of the agro-food area. This notwithstanding, the main challenge is currently addressed to achieve a full comprehension of the mechanisms of action of food components, the nutrients, outlining their high potential impact as preventive and/or therapeutic tools, not only as a source of macro- and/or micro-nutrients, which are necessary for all the metabolic and body functions.

Empirical models and policy making: special issue of economic modelling

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-308
Author(s):  
Frank A.G. den Butter ◽  
Mary S. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Policy Making ◽  
Empirical Models ◽  
Economic Modelling ◽  
Special Issue

Discursive Democracy and New Labour: Five Ways in Which Decision-Makers Manage Citizen Agendas in Public Participation Initiatives

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Williams
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Labour Policy ◽  
The Government

New Labour's conceptualisation of public participation in local government creates a tension in public participation practice. Government legislation and guidance require local authorities to develop and provide citizen-centred services, engage the public in policy-making and respond to the public's views. Seen in this light, New Labour policy draws from radical democratic discourse. However, local authority staff are also expected to act in accordance with the direction set by their line managers, the Council and the government and to inform, engage and persuade the public of the benefit of their authority's policies. In this respect, New Labour policy draws from the discursive model of civil society, conceptualising public participation as a method for engendering civil ownership of the formal structures of representative democracy. Tension is likely to arise when the ideas, opinions and values of the local authority differ from those expressed by the participating public. This paper uses a local ‘public participation’ initiative to investigate how the tension is managed in practice. The study shows how decision-makers dealt with the tension by using participatory initiatives to supply information, understand the views of the public and encourage public support around pre-existing organisational agendas. Problems occurred when citizens introduced new agendas by breaking or manipulating the rules of participation. Decision-makers responded by using a number of distinctive methods for managing citizens’ agendas, some of which were accompanied by strategies for minimising the injury done to citizens’ motivations for further participation. The paper concludes that New Labour policy fails to deal with the tensions between the radical and discursive models of participation and in the final analysis draws mainly from the discursive model of participation. Furthermore, whilst New Labour policy promotes dialogue between the public and local authority, it does not empower local authority staff to achieve the goal of citizen-centred policy-making.

scholarly journals INTRODUCTION FEDERALISM, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLICY-MAKING

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Gamper ◽  
Francesco Palermo
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Considerable Impact

This special issue examines local government; one of the less explored and yet most relevant aspects of federal studies. The special issue looks at cases that demonstrate how the growing role of local government has a considerable impact on federal systems.

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