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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Parliamentary Politics as an Activity

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In this book, Kari Palonen undertakes a thought experiment to spell out key principles of the parliamentary ideal type of politics. Max Weber offers him the main intellectual inspiration, Westminster parliament provides the main historical reference and the author’s studies on parliamentary procedure and rhetoric provide the background. Parliamentary acting and thinking offers us the best example of politics as contingent and controversial activity. In parliament, the pro et contra debate on the motions and the dissensus between perspectives of judging as well as playing in time and with time are built into the institution itself. In this sense, parliamentary politics is more than parliamentary government, namely a mode of proceeding, set of rhetorical practices and a way to deal with spending and saving time.