Recent advisory reports on the Dutch parliamentary system, public scrutiny, and parliamentary upheaval following transgressive behaviour by the old speaker of parliament have drawn attention to the...Show moreRecent advisory reports on the Dutch parliamentary system, public scrutiny, and parliamentary upheaval following transgressive behaviour by the old speaker of parliament have drawn attention to the functioning of parliamentary administrations. The support staff of parliaments is a scarcely covered topic in political science. In a new body of literature, this article is only the second to examine parliamentary staff size quantitatively. It fundamentally extends the scope of previous research from western democracies to a much broader population of parliaments. Drawing on both a functionalist and an institutionalist framework, it hypothesises that population size, population non-linearity, clientelism, parliamentary competition, an interaction between clientelism and parliamentary competition, parliamentary culture, and institutional isomorphism influence the number of institutional and committee staff in parliaments. This research uses house-level data from 161 countries over ten years and employs multilevel analysis to test these hypotheses. It finds strong support that population size, population size non-linearity, and institutional isomorphism influence staff size, while it finds mixed support for parliamentary competition as a predictor of staff size. There was no support for parliamentary culture, clientelism, and the clientelism-competition interaction hypotheses. Additionally, previously thought insignificant predictors of staff size, such as assembly size and parliamentary powers, were, in fact, significant. This article is the first to look at parliamentary administrations, which are vital to the functioning of primary democratic institutions, from a global perspective. Due to the mixed results, it calls for more extensive research on different types of staff, further disentangling of the mechanisms posited, and further data collection to progress understanding of this veiled political and administrative institution.Show less
This thesis explores collective action problems in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the post-Soviet era. Collective action theory does not have plain explanations for the fact that...Show moreThis thesis explores collective action problems in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the post-Soviet era. Collective action theory does not have plain explanations for the fact that NATO is still operating. As long as member states invest in the alliance in terms of financial contributions and by participating in operations, NATO is likely to persist. By focusing on the case of the Netherlands, the study addresses a state’s incentives for contributing to NATO-led out-of-area operations. More specifically, this thesis has selected Kosovo Force, Resolute Support, and NATO Mission Iraq to analyze why the Netherlands has participated in NATO missions. Through a content analysis of letters in which the government justifies its decision for participating in these missions, the study can collect, categorize, and interpret the arguments of the Dutch government. Following the theories of institutionalism and constructivism, this research argues that the Netherlands has contributed to NATO-led out-of-area operations because it strived to sustain the institutional assets of NATO and to promote liberal-democratic values.Show less
Whereas the rhetoric of democracy has entered ASEAN’s agenda through the ASEAN Charter, this thesis will argue that not much democratisation has taken place in ASEAN. The high level of...Show moreWhereas the rhetoric of democracy has entered ASEAN’s agenda through the ASEAN Charter, this thesis will argue that not much democratisation has taken place in ASEAN. The high level of authoritarian ASEAN member states obstructs the process of democratisation. The unbinding and unconditional nature of ASEAN’s way of operating, also known as the ASEAN way, allows a system unsusceptible to democratic change to persist within the organisation. ASEAN’s initiatives relating to democracy have left actors involved in democratic processes disappointed due to, amongst other reasons, the interference of ASEAN’s governments. ASEAN’s power processes reflect a shared reluctance to institutionalisation. The research suggests that a higher level of democratisation in ASEAN is only likely if the number of democratic member states increases.Show less
In general, the findings of this research help us to call into question any easy notion raised by the Little Divergence theory, that the economy of northwest Europe was increasingly ‘better’ or ...Show moreIn general, the findings of this research help us to call into question any easy notion raised by the Little Divergence theory, that the economy of northwest Europe was increasingly ‘better’ or ‘more efficient’ than that of much of the rest of Europe from the medieval period through the early modern period. The over-reliance on wages, that the Little Divergence theory has heretofore done, should be called into question, and other indicators should be provided in order to create a more nuanced picture of what was actually occurring. Additional evidence will show that the Little Divergence was not as pronounced as is currently believed. More specifically, although differences in government types increased and considerable levels of direct integration between very distant states across Europe have not been proven, findings suggest that countries throughout Europe from the seventeenth century onwards were learning how to create effective public debt systems of which interest rates suggest that they were not markedly different from those that are supposed to be the most sophisticated European economies (i.e. the Netherlands and England). This means that they were effectively adopting the most sophisticated financial models available to their own local situations. This resulted in a convergence of financial practices that helped to integrate the economies of Europe, at a time when the Little Divergence is supposed to have been separating them. This paper’s general finding is that interest rates suggest that, in some ways, the early modern period experienced a ‘Little Convergence’ rather than a ‘Little Divergence.’ It will show that the common notion of northwest European countries being economically more successful than the rest of the continent needs considerable nuance.Show less
Thomas Pogge in his paper “Cosmopolitanism and Sovereignty” developed an idea for global institutional reform which contributed significantly to the debate about global justice and promotion of...Show moreThomas Pogge in his paper “Cosmopolitanism and Sovereignty” developed an idea for global institutional reform which contributed significantly to the debate about global justice and promotion of human rights. Pogge attempts to use a strategy that would permit him to go beyond the debate between two extreme approaches to duties, namely libertarianism and utilitarianism. The idea is to invoke strong obligations on the part of individuals by appealing only to their negative duties and not affirming positive duties. In this way, Pogge attempts to broaden the circle of responsibility for the fulfillment of human rights. This thesis will discover how succesful Pogge is in his strategy to do it. It will explore how Pogge adresses within his institutional cosmopolitanism the duties that human rights entail and reveal this way a number of weak points in the theoryShow less
