“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Herbert F Weisberg et al.
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Rules Versus Norms:
Legislatures are governed by specific Rules, but also by unstated Norms and Roles.
Both rules and norms shape the functioning of legislatures.
Informal Norms and Roles: Research On
Early research on Congress (and state legislatures) typically focused on rules. Norms
were/are harder to examine/operationalize than stated rules.
Senate: Has been the subject of much of this research
…
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Norms: Definitions
Weisberg defined Norms as “unwritten but mutually agreed upon expectations…”
They are critical to the daily operations of legislative bodies.
Consequences of Norms: Positive and Negative
Norms can help legislatures work, but they can also hinder its functioning.
They can “enforce” prevailing, yet bad or counter-productive behavior. They
can protect entrenched incumbents or leaders.
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Norms: How do they Function
Questions:
How are they learned?
How are they enforced?
What are the consequences of violating them?
How are they passed on?
How do they change?
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Roles: Definition
Within legislatures, members occupy and play distinctive Roles. The expectations of
members can and do vary by the specific roles they play within the legislature.
Norms, in other words, can and do vary by role.
How do roles impact norms?
Do we have different expectations of legislative leaders?
How do norms vary by role?
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Roles: Different Types
Maverick: Individualist operator: defies Norms?
Apprentice: learn the ropes rather than assert your opinion
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
How Norms Change:
When do norms changes?
When goals change?
When roles change?
When the political climate changes?
“How Do Legislatures Operate?”
Formal Rules
Do rules matter more when norms change or become less clear?