Parliamentary Institutions in Regional and International Governance

Andrea Cofelice (PhD, University of Siena, Italy, 2015) is a research fellow at the Centre for Studies on Federalism in Turin, Italy. He is a member of the research team on ‘International Democracy Watch’ and an editor of the Italian Yearbook of Human Rights (Peter Lang, 2011-). He has published in several edited books on comparative regionalism and parliamentary diplomacy, and in journals including Italian Political Science Review, European Foreign Affairs Review, Mediterranean Quarterly, and The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.

• List of tables and figures Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction What are the conditions? A review of the literature on parliamentary empowerment New institutionalism Comparative regionalism Concluding remarks: two propositions on the empowerment of international parliamentary institutions References Institutional features: appointment, representation and internal organisation Origins of parliamentary institutions and the "time factor" Institutional setting of regional international organisations Size and distribution of seats of parliamentary institutions Selection modalities of members of parliamentary institutions Time spent in plenary sessions and internal organisation Groupings in the assemblies and required majorities Concluding remarks: what do international parliamentary institutions represent? References Parliamentary functions and powers Assessing the strength of parliamentary institutions: towards a "parliamentary powers index" Policy-making: consultative and legislative functions Budgetary functions Accountability: oversight and appointment functions Concluding remarks: an overview of parliamentary functions and powers References Explaining the empowerment of international parliamentary institutions Two main roads: between normative spillover and spurred emulation Alternative strategies? The role of informal rules, inter-institutional alliances and the "parliamentarist ideology" References Conclusion Appendix – Primary sources

In his book, Andrea Cofelice offers a detailed and thorough investigation which compares 22 parliamentary institutions from European, African and Latin American international regional organizations. He discusses the impact produced on the decision-making processes and the conditions under which such impact is expected to expand. Research on these important aspects of international politics is refreshing and well-needed. -Daniela Irrera, Europe Now