Who's in the Spotlight? The Personalization of Politics in the European Parliament
研究了欧洲议会中政治个人化的程度,发现个人化有所增加,但集体行动者仍占主导地位,个人对内部组织的影响有限。
Abstract The personalization of politics represents a growing research field in European studies. Yet, despite this, an institutional sphere of politics remained rather overlooked. This article aims to fill this gap, focusing on the only European Union (EU) institution with legitimacy derived directly from EU citizens: the European Parliament (EP). This study brings new insights about political behaviour within the EP and provides an original approach for studying (not only) EP politics. Based on quantitative content analysis we conclude that politics in the EP has become to some extent more personalized. However, despite the enhancement of (some) individuals' positions within the EP, collective actors have not lost their dominant positions. The personalization can be observed primarily in the field of parliamentary procedure. In agenda‐setting and internal decision‐making, personalization occurred as well. Any possibility of individual actors to affect the EP's internal organization remains very limited.