Evaluating and Theorising Committee Scrutiny

Dear Colleagues,

The development of scrutiny by committees in a variety of legislatures, assemblies, authorities and parliaments has been a significant trend this century, for example reforms to British local government led to the establishment of a plethora of committees with specific scrutiny roles. This trend has drawn, for example, on the praise showered on congressional committees in the US and acknowledged achievements of the departmental select committees of the UK House of Commons.  This special edition seeks to develop scholarship in this field particularly through theorising the subject and constructing comparative examples. We welcome articles on committee scrutiny in a broad interpretation of theme which incorporates all tiers of government as well as similar democratic arrangements in membership organisations, for example students’ unions. We particularly welcome papers that offer innovative approaches to theory and evaluative methodology as well as those that cover countries and institutions neglected or marginalised in the contemporary literature.

Manuscript Submission Information

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• scrutiny
• committees
• local authorities
• parliaments
• assemblies, membership organizations