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Syllabus Democratic Legislatures: The Knesset in Perspective - 56828
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Last update 21-10-2017
HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: political science

Semester: Yearly

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof. Reuven Hazan

Coordinator Email: Reuven.Hazan@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: by appointment

Teaching Staff:
Prof Reuven Hazan

Course/Module description:
This course examines and compares democratic legislatures, with a particular focus on the Israeli legislature, the Knesset. The course presents students with the basic concepts, models and theories needed in order to understand the organization and functioning of democratic legislatures, and provides them with the methodological tools required to conduct legislative research.
Several of the course’s meetings will take place in the Knesset. The aim of these meetings is to provide the students an in-depth acquaintance with the Israeli legislature: its legislative process, uncovering its influential players, committee work, legislative oversight of the executive branch, the work of parliamentary party groups, and the influence of the media.

Course/Module aims:
To familiarize the students with the basic terms, concepts, theories and arguments used for political analysis of democratic legislatures. To provide the students with the practical tools needed for a comparative cross-national analysis of the differences which affect the functioning and behavior of democratic legislatures. To expose the students to a variety of contemporary legislatures. To allow a close acquaintance with the structure, function and behavior of the Israeli legislature.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1.To identify the concepts and central theories in the field of democratic legislative studies
2.To compare democratic legislatures around the world based on characteristics found in the academic literature
3.To examine to different factors which affect the function and conduct of democratic legislatures
4.To retrieve primary comparative data for use in empirical research from legislative websites around the world and specifically from the Knesset website
5.To comparatively analyze and characterize the strengths and weaknesses of democratic legislatures around the world and those of the Israeli legislature

Attendance requirements(%):
100

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lectures, visits to the Knesset every few weeks.

Course/Module Content:
1.Introduction
2.Legislative studies
3.Legislation
4.Executive-legislature relations
5.Committees
6.Opposition
7.Definitions and tools of legislative oversight
8.Bicameralism
9.Function, role and behavior
10.Legislative recruitment, candidate selection and general elections
11.PPGs, parties and discipline
12.The decline of legislatures?

Required Reading:
1. Introduction
Mahler, Gregory S. 2008. Chapter 4: “Legislatures and Legislative Structures”. In Comparative Politics: An Institutional and Cross-National Approach, by G.S. Mahler. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. 73-103.
תפקידי הפרלמנט וסמכויותיו. (2011). נייר עבודה פנימי במסגרת הפורום לתיקון שיטת השלטון בישראל. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה.

2. Legislative studies
Mezey, Michael L. 1979. “Chapter 2: Classifying Legislatures”. In Comparative Legislatures, by M. L. Mezey. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 21-44.
Martin, Shane, Thomas Saalfeld and Kaare W. Strøm. 2014. “Introduction”. In The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies, edited by S. Martin, T. Saalfeld and K.W. Strøm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-11.

3. Legislation
Rasch, Bjørn Erik. 2000. “Parliamentary Floor Voting Procedures and Agenda Setting in Europe”. Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 25, #1, pp. 3-23.
פרידברג, חן. 2013. "הכנסת כגוף מחוקק: דיאגנוזה והמלצות." בתוך: רהט, גדעון, שלומית ברנע, חן פרידברג ועופר קניג (עורכים). תיקון שיטת הממשל בישראל. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה, עמ' 560-577.

4. Executive-legislature relations
King, Anthony. 1976. “Modes of Executive-Legislative Relations”. Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 1, #1, pp. 11-36.
קניג, עופר וחן פרידברג. 2013. "האם הכנסת מפזרת את עצמה לדעת?". פוליטיקה, 22: 27-50.

5.Committees
Strøm, Kaare. 1998. “Parliamentary Committees in European Democracies”. Journal of Legislative Studies, Vol. 4, #1, pp. 21-59.
Hazan, Reuven Y. 2001. “Chapter 5: Committees in the Israeli Knesset”. In Reforming Parliamentary Committees: Israel in Comparative Perspective, by R.Y. Hazan. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, pp. 47-76.

6. Opposition
Dahl, Robert A. 1966. “Chapter 11: Patterns of Opposition”. In Political Oppositions in Western Democracies, edited by R. A. Dahl. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, pp. 332-347.
טוטנאור, אור. 2014. "האופוזיציה הפרלמנטרית בישראל במבט השוואתי", פוליטיקה, 23: 73-104.

7. Legislative oversight
פרידברג, חן וראובן חזן. 2009. "פרק ראשון: תפקיד הפיקוח של הרשות המחוקקת על הרשות המבצעת: רקע, מסגרת, היקף וכלים". בתוך פיקוח הכנסת על הממשלה: תמונת מצב והצעה לרפורמה, מאת ח. פרידברג ור. חזן. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה, עמ' 21-56.
פרידברג, חן. 2013. "הכנסת כגוף מפקח: דיאגנוזה והמלצות." בתוך: רהט, גדעון, שלומית ברנע, חן פרידברג ועופר קניג (עורכים). תיקון שיטת הממשל בישראל. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה, עמ' 578-605.

8. Bicameralism
Coakley, John. 2014. “The Strange Revival of Bicameralism”. Journal of Legislative Studies, Vol. 20, #4, pp. 542-572.
נייר רקע: בית מחוקקים נוסף לישראל. 2008. נייר עבודה במסגרת המועצה הציבורית לחוקה. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה.

9.Function, roles and behavior
Searing, Donald. 1995. “Backbench and Leadership Roles in the House of Commons”. Parliamentary Affairs, Vol. 48, #3, pp. 418-437.
חזן, נעמי. 2012. "אחריותם הציבורית של חברי הכנסת בישראל", בתוך: ר. כהן-אלמגור, א. ארבל-גנץ ו-א. כשר (עורכים). אחריות ציבורית בישראל, תל אביב: הקיבוץ המאוחד, עמ' 193-217.

10. Legislative recruitment, candidate selection and general elections
Hazan, Reuven Y. 2002. “Candidate Selection”. In Comparing Democracies 2: New Challenges in the Study of Elections and Voting, edited by L. LeDuc, R. G. Niemi and P. Norris. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 108-126.
Mahler, Gregory S. 1981. “Chapter 6: The Recruitment of Members of Knesset.” In The Knesset: Parliament in the Israeli Political System by G.S. Mahler. Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, pp. 138-159.

11.Factions, parties and discipline
Bowler, Shaun, David M. Farrell and Richard S. Katz. 1999. “Party Cohesion, Party Discipline, and Parliaments”. In Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government, edited by S. Bowler, D. M. Farrell and R. S. Katz. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, pp. 3-22.
איצקוביץ'-מלכה, רעות ואסף שפירא. 2013. "המפלגות בזירה הפרלמנטרית: לכידות סיעתית." בתוך: רהט, גדעון, שלומית ברנע, חן פרידברג ועופר קניג (עורכים). תיקון שיטת הממשל בישראל. ירושלים: המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה, עמ' 251-273.

12. The decline of legislatures?
Bryce, James. 1971 [1921]. “The Decline of Legislatures”. In Modern Parliaments, edited by G. Loewenberg. Chicago, IL: Aldine Atherton, pp. 21-32.
Chazan, Naomi. 2005. “The Knesset”. Israel Affairs, Vol. 11, #2, pp. 392-416.

Additional Reading Material:
see course website.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 0 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 20 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 40 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 40 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
• This syllabus is temporary and is therefore not binding. The final binding syllabus is the one uploaded to the course website.
• Students who wish to receive 4 HU credit points (6 ECTS) for the course will have their grade calculated as follows: average grade on four of the course assignments – 40%, final paper – 40%, attendance and participation –20%.
• Students who wish to receive 8 credit points (12 ECTS) for the course will have their grade calculated as follows: the grade for 4 credit points (6 ECTS) will be based on a seminar research paper and the grade for the remaining 4 credit points (6 ECTS)will be divided as follows: average grade on four of the course assignments – 80%, attendance and participation –20%.
• For a full list of the course’s reading materials, including both the mandatory and recommended reading, see the course website in the Moodle system.
• During the course the lecturer can, based on his academic judgment, make changes in the course, including changing the assignments described in the syllabus or adding new assignments.
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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