Beyond national boundaries in the study of digital public engagement: Interparliamentary institutions and cooperation in the Austrian and Portuguese national parliaments

Abstract

This study assesses the role of interparliamentary institutions (IPIs) and networks in the diffusion of new ideas and solutions of (digital) public engagement in national parliaments by using elite semistructured interviews from two case studies, Austria and Portugal. Evidence collected shows that both parliaments are strongly relying on IPIs to develop and implement digital public engagement activities to stay informed, eliminate the possibility of failure, reduce the administrative costs and uncertainty of IT planning and new experiences, and comply with standards of what is perceived to be a legitimate parliament. By showing that IPIs are vehicles of (digital) public engagement diffusion—parliaments learn from and emulate other parliaments perceived as successful through these institutions—this study has significant implications for our understanding of public engagement as well as of interparliamentary cooperation.

Influences on parliamentary procedure in New Zealand 1935 - 2015

“…Technological advances have made it easier and faster for policymakers to communicate with each other. Information is easy to access through the internet and international organisations play a significant role in gathering and sharing knowledge (Stone, et al, 2004;Serra-Silva, 2022). Generally, the occurrences of policy transfer have increased.…”

“…The public approach to petitions changed, when the rules remained the same, leading to petitions Drift Rule remains the same but its effect altered by shifts in the external environment Appendix E -People interviewed for this thesis Sir David Carter Speaker 2013Minister 1998-1999Committee chair 2002Whip 1996 Sir Trevor Mallard Speaker 2017-2022Minister 1999Whip 1987…”