Over the last 20 years economic pressures have forced the governments of Western Europe to take hard and often immediate decisions. Policy-making has become more detached from parliaments as a result. How have the parliaments coped with these pressures and what role do they now play in the political system?

Parliaments in Western Europe (1990) provides the first contemporary analysis of the various parliaments in Western Europe. Each author addresses two central questions: to what extent has the legislature been marginalised in policy-making, and to what extent has it been able to maintain popular support?