A21(a) - Roundtable: Book Event – Jean-François Godbout’s “Lost on Division: Party Unity in the Canadian Parliament”
Date: Jun 4 | Time: 03:15pm to 04:45pm | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : Jean-François Godbout (Université de Montréal)
Roundtable: Book Event – Jean-François Godbout’s “Lost on Division: Party Unity in the Canadian Parliament”:
Jean-François Godbout (Université de Montréal)
Abstract: Lost on Division is the first book published by the University of Toronto’s new series Political Development: Comparative Perspectives edited by Robert Vipond (University of Toronto) and Jack Lucas (University of Calgary). In this book, Jean-François Godbout analyses more than two million individual votes recorded in the House of Commons and the Senate since Confederation to explain why party discipline is so high in Parliament today. He finds that the increase in partisanship over time can be linked to changes in the content of the legislative agenda, itself a product of more restrictive parliamentary rules instituted after 1900. These rules reduced the independence of private members, polarized voting along partisan lines, and undermined Parliament’s ability to represent distinct regional interests, resulting – among other things – in the rise of third parties. Bridging the scholarship on party politics, legislatures, and elections, this book builds a powerful case for bringing institutions back into our understanding of how party systems change. It represents a significant contribution to legislative studies, the political development literature, and the comparative study of parliaments. In this lunchtime event (food will be provided), Godbout will be introduced by Rob Vipond and Jack Lucas. He will then talk about the principal arguments of his book. This brief presentation will be followed by an opportunity for audience Q&A and discussion. This panel will be of interest to scholars of Canadian and Comparative politics, parties and election, and historical political science.