Although it is generally seen as desirable that parties in government are both responsive and responsible, these two characteristics are now in increasing tension with one another. Prudence and consistency in government, as well as accountability, requires that governments conform to external...

The changing circumstances in which parties compete in contemporary democracies, coupled with the changing circumstances in which governments now govern, have led to a widening of the traditional gap between representative and responsible government. Although it is generally seen as desirable...

The great majority of EU member states are not big states, and they are further divided into not so small, smaller and smallest states. The European Union’s establishment by a treaty between 27 independent states confers juridical equality on each state regardless of its population. Insofar as...

In the EU's system of multi-level governance, decisions are normally taken by consensus following deliberations among 28 national governments in which both large and small states participate. However, they must also be co-ordinated with politics and policies in 28 separate national systems of...