Abstract
Most previous research examining selection to committees assumes constituency pressures—leading representatives to seek committee assignments dealing with their constituents’ particularistic interests that improve their re-election prospects—are incompatible with disciplined parties, which may prevent such personal vote-seeking behaviour in order to preserve the party’s brand. In contrast, we argue parties will support committee assignments promoting members’ re-election chances because parties benefit from their members’ re-election. Analysing two legislatures with highly disciplined parties and electoral systems encouraging personal vote-seeking—the Northern Ireland Assembly and Dáil Éireann—our analysis suggests constituency pressures increase the chances of selection to committees enhancing members’ re-election prospects.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Parliamentary Affairs |
Early online date | 20 Feb 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Early online date - 20 Feb 2017 |