The Dynamics of Constitutional Conventions in Westminster Democracies

• Barry, Nicholas ^[2] ; Miragliotta, Narelle ^[1] ; Nwokora, Zim ^[3]
  1. [1] Monash University

     Monash University

     Australia

     
  2. [2] Department of Politics and Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, LaTrobe
  3. [3] Department of Politics and Policy Studies, Faculty of Arts and Education

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• Localización: Parliamentary affairs: A journal of representative politics, ISSN 0031-2290, Vol. 72, Nº 3, 2019, págs. 664-683
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Constitutional conventions are fundamental to the operation of Westminster democracies. However, despite their political significance, there have been few attempts to analyse and theorise their internal dynamics. This article aims to address this gap by identifying the triggers of constitutional ‘softening’, when the opportunity for convention change emerges; and examining how such moments interact with the particular properties of a convention to determine its change trajectory. We argue that the change trajectories of constitutional conventions are not entirely unpredictable but can be traced to particular kinds of change events and the particular set of features inherent to that convention.