Demokratische Kontrolle oder Inquisition? Eine empirische Analyse der parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschüsse des Nationalrates nach 1945

'Untersuchungsausschüsse stellen eines der effektivsten Kontrollinstrumente des Parlaments gegenüber der Regierung dar. Ihre Wirksamkeit ist aber infolge der Entwicklung des Parteienstaates und der Ablösung der traditionellen Gewaltenteilung zwischen beiden Institutionen durch eine neue Gewaltenteilung zwischen Regierung und Opposition stark begrenzt. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Praxis der parlamentarischen Untersuchungsausschüsse in Österreich nach 1945 auf der Grundlage von politikwissenschaftlichen Forschungen im Rahmen der Principal-Agent-Theorie. Dabei wird - insbesondere für die jüngere Periode, die durch eine Intensivierung des Parteienwettbewerbs und eine zunehmende Rolle der Medien gekennzeichnet ist - eine Überlagerung der parlamentarischen Kontrollfunktion durch Parteiinteressen nachgewiesen.' (Autorenreferat)'Committees of investigation are considered as one of the most effective means by which parliaments can control government. However, the rise of political parties, which led to a new division of powers between government and opposition, has significantly reduced their effectiveness. The article examines the use of the instrument by the Austrian parliament since 1945, proceeding from the insights of principal-agent models. It is shown that the control function of parliament has been increasingly overlaid by the interests of the parties. These, in turn, are a consequence of changes in the competitiveness of the party system and the greater influence of the mass media.' (author's abstract

Coping with Covid: How Did Covid-19 Management Measures Affect Fiscal Federal Relations?

Kempny S, Aroney N, Behnke N, et al. Coping with Covid: How Did Covid-19 Management Measures Affect Fiscal Federal Relations? . Jahrbuch für öffentliche Finanzen 2-2021. 2021:117-156

The European mayor - Political leaders in the changing context of local democracy

Major structural changes have been taking place in European local government systems around the turn of the millennium. Changes that have already had substantial consequences for local political leadership and are likely to bring about further change in the future. A number of such restructuring trends are sweeping over the continent, but from different starting points, at varying pace and in various mixed configurations. The research was designed to assess how, by playing on these different contexts, the restructuring trends and reforms inscribed in the wider framework of increasing global exchanges impact on the concept and praxis of political representation at local level. Four different trends of change are in focus: structural transformations in terms of privatisation, contracting out and general mimicry of private sector institutional arrangements ('New Public Management'); changes in central-local relations, most often in form of decentralisation, whereby new tasks have been allocated to the local level; the importance of political parties; internal institutional arrangements of local authorities. Central topics in the study are recruitment processes, perspectives on democracy, leadership styles, networks, intergovernmental relations, the importance of the party system and horizontal power relations in the local government organization