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The article presents a report on a conference on the history of parliaments and parliamentary government in Europe, convened in Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands, from May 30-June 1, 2013. Topics of discussion included the emergence of representative government in the 19th century, democracy and political extremism in the interwar period, and politics in Europe since the end of World War II.

The article reviews the conference, "Herrschaft und Verwaltung in der Frühen Neuzeit," on the subject of political administration in early modernity, held from October 19th to October 20th, 2012, in Essen, Germany. Topics discussed include the constitutional function of the church in the monarchy of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in the region of southern Holland (1706-1720), the relationship between local and regional rulers with their subjects in the Hessen-Kassel region of Germany around 1668, and a comparison of Court-Parliament relations in England, Sweden and Prussia in the 18th century.

The article discusses administrative reforms in the Bessarabia province of Romania during the first decade following that region's incorporation into the Romanian state in the wake of World War I. The author describes the tradition of local government through zemstva, or legislative councils, and its role in the government and public administration of the area. Other topics addressed include the social status of civil servants, language policy, and boycotts and anti-government resistance in the area.

The article reports on a symposium on the Immerwährender Reichstag (Everlasting Imperial Congress) of the Holy Roman Empire between 1663 and 1806, held in Salzburg, Austria, on September 23, 2011. Topics discussed included the historiography of the Holy Roman Empire, the relationship between the congress and the free imperial cities of Germany, and diplomatic relations between the Holy Roman Empire and France.

The article presents information about the parliamentary system of the Silesian estates between the 15th and the 19th centuries. Descriptions are given of the parliamentary system's first appearance in the 14th century as the so-called "colloquium," which is described as a congress of rulers and their subjects. It is noted that the next stage in the development of the estates parliamentary system included dukes and rulers from multiple Silesian dynasties. Further comments are given concerning the history of the provincial diet known as the "Landtag," in which only landowners, nobility, and freemen participated.