Serban, Ruxandra; (2020) Questioning Prime Ministers: Procedures, Practices and Functions in Parliamentary Democracies. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis investigates parliamentary oral questioning mechanisms that involve prime ministers in parliamentary democracies. Considering the fact that prime ministers are powerful and visible actors in parliamentary democracies, and that accountability is a key component of democratic politics, it maps the mechanisms through which parliamentarians may question prime ministers in different countries, and explores the extent to which these mechanisms contribute to accountability, and the extent to which they perform other functions. The first research component is a survey of procedural rules regarding mechanisms through which parliamentarians may question prime ministers in 31 parliamentary democracies. It draws on an indepth examination of parliamentary rules of procedure, followed by a consultation with practitioners and officials in each country to uncover aspects of convention and practice. Subsequently, questioning mechanisms are classified based on dimensions such as their collective or individualised nature, the extent to which procedures allow more open or closed participation, as well as the degree of questioning exposure to which prime ministers are subjected. It then discusses how these dimensions might affect the practice of questioning. Drawing on these classifications, the second research component investigates the practice of questioning prime ministers in four countries: two using collective questioning mechanisms, where prime ministers are questioned together with ministers (Question Period in Canada, Question Time in Australia); and two using individualised mechanisms, where prime ministers are questioned alone (Prime Minister’s Questions in the UK, Oral Questions to the Taoiseach in Ireland). This second component relies on quantitative and qualitative content analysis of transcripts of parliamentary debates for each case study country. Departing from the assumption that parliamentary questioning mechanisms are designed to facilitate accountability, it investigates the degree to which they do so, and the degree to which they perform other functions, such as facilitating the expression of conflict, support, or territorial representation.

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