Parliaments in the Czech and Slovak Republics

Dr Petr Kopecký, Lecturer in Politics, Department of Politics, The University of Sheffield, UK. He read economics at the University of Economics in Prague for his first degree and subsequently gained an MA in European Government at Manchester University. He completed his doctoral thesis at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He works in the field of comparative politics and his main research interests include East European politics, political parties, parliaments and problems of democratic transition and consolidation

• Contents: Introduction: transition, consolidation and parliamentary institutionalization; The institutional origins of the modern Czech and Slovak parliaments; Parliaments, parties and electorate: organizing representation; Executive-legislative relations: parliaments and governments; Executive-legislative relations: presidents; Inside the parliaments: parliamentary parties; Conclusion: growing apart?; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

’An impressive study, an excellent blend of theory and empirical research, essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the development of the Czech and Slovak parliaments. This should be of value to all students of legislative developments.’ Professor The Lord Norton of Louth, University of Hull, UK ’Both the detailed evidence on many topics and the wide sweep of inquiry make a valuable contribution to our knowledge of one pair of post-communist countries and their parliaments.’ Journal of Legislative Studies ’...informative and theoretically well elaborated...’ Slavic Review