Gender and Strategic Opposition Behavior: Patterns of Parliamentary Oversight in Belgium

Abstract

Studies on strategic parliamentary opposition often focus on broader behavioral patterns or party‐level variation. This article analyzes differences at the individual level, more notably between male and female opposition members of parliament. Using rational‐choice perspectives of opposition activity and theories of gendered political behavior, we hypothesize that female opposition members focus less on ideological conflicts (with or between coalition parties) and more on their party’s core issues. Furthermore, we expect them to more frequently target female ministers, in part because of the nature of their respective portfolios. Our analysis of all parliamentary questions tabled by opposition members in the Belgian Federal Parliament between 2007 and 2019 (N = 48,735) suggests that female members of parliament seem more likely to focus on issues that are salient to their party and less on conflictual matters between coalition partners. These results provide new empirical insights into strategic opposition behavior and gendered differences in the legislature.

Women Opposition Leaders: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Agendas

“…Both in political theory and constitutional practice, more dispersed notions of parliament-based opposition leaders can be imagined. As several contributions to this thematic issue suggest (de Vet & Devroe, 2023;Tripp, 2023), to some extent all MPs can be considered political leaders, with opposition MPs standing out as actors that share in the role of parliamentary opposition leader.…”

Is Oppositional Behaviour in European Union Affairs Gendered? Evidence from Plenary Debates and Committee Deliberations in Four Legislatures

“…The ‘striking absence of a gender perspective’ (Helms 2023, p. 8) in the literature on political opposition is as surprising as it is troublesome. Considering that political opposition has been cast as ‘very nearly the most distinctive characteristic of democracy itself’ (Dahl 1966), it is remarkable that it has attracted almost no attention in the politics and gender literature to date (see, however, de Vet and Devroe 2022). This glaring gap is also highly troublesome as it means our understanding of the role gender plays for legislative behaviour and representative government more broadly is incomplete.…”

“…Theoretically, we follow a research tradition that views parties, and their representatives, as rational actors behaving strategically to maximize electoral support (Budge 1994; De Vet and Devroe 2022; Downs 1957). More specifically, we take as our point of departure an established approach to studying legislative debates, which views speechmaking as a form of rational and strategic behaviour (Maltzman and Sigelman 1996; Proksch and Slapin 2015).…”