Parliamentary institutions and partisan norms are complex, and new members of parliament are unlikely to possess an innate awareness of optimal behavior. This paper examines how new legislators adopt the behavioral patterns of incumbent members in the 6th European Parliament. The 6th EP provides...

Parties value unity, yet, members of parliament face competing demands, giving them incentives to deviate from the party line. For members of the European Parliament (MEPs), these competing demands are national party and European party group pressures. Here, we look at how MEPs respond to those...

While there is a vast literature highlighting the social dynamics that underlie political behavior, we know very little about the processes by which political behavior and practices disseminate among political actors. Drawing upon recent innovations, we study the diffusion of behavior within the...

Theories of statutory interpretation abound. Scholars, judges and commentators have long puzzled over the best method to locate the meaning of a statute and to this end have proposed a range of approaches that rely on various forms of evidence, including statutory text, legislative intent,...

Little scholarly literature has examined why the chambers of the U.S. congress use conference committees to reconcile inter-cameral legislative differences. Conference committees occur frequently and handle the most important legislation. Why would the chambers be willing to delegate...