What are the Most Important Institutional Differences Between European Parliamentary Democracies: European Politics & Policy Assignment, UCD

Assignment Overview:

Please write a 1,500-word essay, in which you answer the following questions:

1. What are the most important institutional differences between European parliamentary democracies?
2. What are the implications of these different institutional arrangements for the operation and political outcomes in these democracies?

Your paper should present a well-thought-out analysis of the different ways in which institutions are designed and operate in at least two different European countries, e.g., the structure, the powers, and the interactions between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary; the different types of electoral systems and their implications on party system and political representation, various modes of political mobilization (e.g., parties, interest groups, popular movements outside of parliaments), etc.

Your essay should consist of an introduction, a body containing an appropriate number of paragraphs, and a conclusion. Be sure to write full sentences (not fragments) and please proof-read your paper before you submit it.

Bibliography and any appendices are not included in the word-count. As this is a course about the comparative politics of democratic states in Europe, please ensure that your answer refers to these countries, not the US, non-democracies, the institutions of the European Union, etc.