The focus on representation, sovereignty, responsibility and deliberation offers a lot: the book convincingly demonstrates how these concepts from as early as seventeenth-century Britain recur time and time again in political controversies over what parliament is or should be. Thanks to this specific approach, the quality of the case studies and the coherence between them are significant. · Parliament, Estates and Representation
maintaining a high level of clarity, this title provides insight not only into political history, but also the attitudes of those who contribute to it. · Res Rhetorica
[ The editors] definitely succeeded in anchoring parliament and parliamentarism in Conceptual History, as well as fulfilling the claim to present surveys. Without exception, the volume offers excellent contributions that combine masterly overviews, well-chosen empirical findings and case studies with inspiring theoretical deliberations. · Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen
The great challenge for a book of this kind is to maintain cohesion among a multiplicity of authors and perspectives, and in this it has been entirely successful. Its overall framework of four principles that distinguish parliamentarism is clear and convincing, and its openness to different methodological approaches enables contributors to transcend traditional disciplinary limits. · Olivier Rozenberg, Sciences Po
This collection offers an impressive historical and geographical sweep, covering a range of conceptual issues. The individual chapters provide both breadth and depth, and they are well situated within wider theoretical concerns. · Alan Finlayson, University of East Anglia
