Parliamentary committees play a decisive role in lawmaking, yet their internal dynamics remain largely unexplored in political science - particularly when it comes to voting behavior. This book breaks new ground by systematically analyzing committee-level voting in the European Parliament (EP), drawing on an original dataset that covers the EP's 8th legislative term (2014 - 2019). It offers the first comprehensive empirical assessment of how consensus, cohesion and coherence emerge within committees and how these dynamics shape legislative outcomes.

Through rigorous analysis, the book reveals how internal committee decisions influence the EP's institutional role, legislative efficiency, and democratic legitimacy. It situates the EPcharacterized by strong committees and exceptional transparencywithin comparative parliamentary research and uses it as a lens to explore broader questions of legislative governance within the European Union and beyond.

By linking empirical findings to key theoretical debates, this book contributes to a deeper understanding of legislative behavior, institutional negotiation, and the evolving nature of parliamentary democracy. As such, it is an essential resource for scholars of EU politics, legislative studies, and institutional theory.

Provides new approaches to theories of legislative organization Draws on a new and original dataset on voting in the committees of the European Parliament Illustrates the previously under-researched relevance of consensus, cohesion and coherence in parliamentary committees

Autorentext

Dr. Moritz F. Wiesenthal holds a PhD in International and European Politics and currently serves as policy advisor at the European Affairs Department of the State Chancellery of Lower Saxony (Germany).

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Committees in Theory: Consensus, Cohesion and Coherence.- Chapter 3: Committees in Practice: The Case of the European Parliament.- Chapter 4: Walking the Line: Committees and Consensus.- Chapter 5: Closing the Ranks: Committees and Cohesion.- Chapter 6: Message in a Bottle: Committees and Coherence.- Chapter 7: Conclusion.