Parliaments in security policy: involvement, politicisation, and influence

Abstract

While parliaments have long been neglected actors in the analysis of security policy, recent studies indicate a slowly growing research literature on the subject. This introduction to a special issue on parliaments in security policy critically reviews this literature. It argues that current research is focused primarily on how parliaments, relying on formal legal competences, can constrain governmental policies and that this research needs expansion in three areas. First, informal sources of parliamentary influence on security policy deserve more systematic attention as the significance of parliaments in concrete cases often hinges on contextual factors and individual decision-makers. Secondly, we still lack a systematic understanding of the effects of parliamentary involvement on security policy and especially broader patterns that would be discernible across a wider variety of countries and policies. Finally, the role of parliaments for the politics of security is almost completely uncharted territory so far. When parliaments become involved in security policy, does this foster transparency and contribute to the politicization of security policy so that security policy becomes a “normal” political issue? The article reviews current research, derives findings from the contributions to this special issue, and spells out their wider implications for the study of domestic politics and international relations, before concluding with some avenues for future research.