Mitchell Centre Seminar Series - Laurence Brandenberger (University of Zurich) - Chairs, Cliques, and Clout: Network Drivers in Parliamentary Collaboration
| Dates: | 15 October 2025 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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How do members of parliament choose collaborators? Is it policy or people that tip the scales?
This talk argues that the everyday social fabric of the chamber steers who works with whom. Treating parliament as a living network, I show that collaboration tends to form inside small, cohesive clusters where informal norms and reciprocity sustain ties over time. These patterns aren’t uniform: they vary across the ideological spectrum, with some groups leaning more on mutual exchange while others rely less on reciprocal tie-building. Furthermore, simple proximity matters in parliamentary collaborations: seat neighbors are more likely to pitch in on each other’s work, and members seated next to female colleagues become more active in parliamentary business.
Together, these findings highlight how social structure affects legislative cooperation and performance. The results invite us to look beyond policy alignment and examine how the micro-social architecture of parliaments drives collective action.
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Arthur Lewis Building
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