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Questions regarding the origin and evolution of legislative institutions are at the heart of comparative legislative studies. Much research in this area focuses on the US Congress; in contrast, comparative studies of European democracies have been more limited. Addressing this imbalance, this special issue showcases newly emerging research on legislative organisation in Europe. In doing so, it brings together contributions that explore the rationales behind the emergence of, and variation in, national European voting practices, investiture rules, minority rights, committee power, agenda control, debating rules and individual MPs’ rights. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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.

This article quantifies the activities of medieval and early modern parliaments. It traces the long-term evolution of this European institution, and offers a first pass at analysing its impact on long-term economic development. Starting in Spain in the twelfth century, parliaments gradually spread over the Latin west between 1200 and 1500. In the early modern period, parliaments declined in influence in southern and central Europe and further gained in importance in the Netherlands and Britain, resulting in an institutional 'Little Divergence' between 1500 and 1800. We discuss the background of this phenomenon in detail. Moreover, by analysing the effects of parliamentary activity on city growth we find that these differences in institutional development help to explain the economic divergence between north-western and southern and central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the relationship between the Holy Roman imperial assembly "gemeiner Tag" and the collective identity of its electors during the mid-15th century. The concept of the gemeiner Tag is presented and its role in the prehistory of the Reichstag, or parliaments, of the Holy Roman Empire is explored. Particular focus is given to the way in which kings shared power with the Kurkolleg, or Electoral College, under the gemeiner Tag system. Political fluctuations in the Holy Roman Empire, conflicts of interest among electors, and the territorial interests of rulers are also discussed.