ABSTRACT

This study examines committee influence on government bills during the AKP’s 2011–2015 majority government term in Turkey, an era characterised by democratic backsliding. It explores whether committees introduce more substantial amendments to government bills when they draw on their scrutiny powers (i.e. hearing sponsoring ministers, hearing stakeholders, forming subcommittees, secondary committee review) providing them diverse information and policy expertise. I hypothesise and test under what conditions committees use these competencies to initiate substantial changes. Overall findings based on a novel dataset indicate that legislative committees introduce more substantial amendments to government bills when they consult with sponsoring ministers and stakeholders. These findings suggest that the formal capabilities of legislative committees provide opportunities for legislators to influence government legislation even in adverse political contexts, as these mechanisms limit the government’s ability to impose its legislative agenda unilaterally. It contributes to the debates on strengthening legislatures for effective government scrutiny.

摘要

本研究考察了 AKP 2011-2015 年土耳其多数政府任期内委员会对政府法案的影响，这是一个以民主倒退为特征的时代。它探讨了委员会在利用其审查权（即听证会发起部长、听证会利益相关者、组建小组委员会、二级委员会审查）为他们提供多样化信息和政策专业知识时，是否会对政府法案进行更实质性的修正。我假设并测试委员会在什么条件下使用这些能力来启动实质性变革。基于新数据集的总体调查结果表明，立法委员会在与发起部长和利益相关者协商时对政府法案进行了更实质性的修正。这些发现表明，立法委员会的正式能力为立法者提供了影响政府立法的机会，即使在不利的政治背景下也是如此，因为这些机制限制了政府单方面实施其立法议程的能力。它有助于就加强立法机关以有效进行政府审查的辩论。