Parliaments and Representatives

By describing the concepts of transformative leadership and transformative politics, this paper explains the importance of women’s leadership and highlights the roles they can play in transforming politics and governance.

This report documents a seminar held by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Nepal in July 1997. The seminar presented a comparative perspective on parliamentary practices with respect to parliamentary discipline, parliamentary whips, and anti-defections legislation.

This handbook is designed to provide recommendations and suggestions for organizing and conducting constituency outreach activities. It is based on lessons learned in Namibia and other democracies.

This paper examines the role of presiding officers in three general models of legislatures: the Westminster Model, the U.S. Congress Model, and the French Bureau Model.

This paper identifies some of the central characteristics of bicameral and unicameral legislatures and offers evidence as to why countries may have chosen one model over the other. It also provides information on other legislative structures and examples of cameral changes.

This handbook was written as a guide to help Members of Parliament in Malawi work effectively with their constituency.

This guide provides an introduction to various approaches and techniques for lobbying parliament.

This background paper was prepared for a UNDP staff training seminar entitled, “Strengthening the Legislature – Challenges and Techniques,” held in Brussels in October 2001.

This paper highlights the importance of legislative committees, as well as committee meetings and hearings. It describes the different types of committees, the regulations governing committee membership and leadership, and the responsibilities of committee staff.