PARLIAMENT AND DEMOCRACY - Inter-Parliamentary Union

An effective parliament (II): Parliament’s involvement in international affairs I 157
Concerning democracy, a clear paradox is emerging: while the
substance of politics is fast globalising (in the areas of trade, economics,
environment, pandemics, terrorism, etc.), the process of politics
is not; its principal institutions (elections, political parties and parliaments)
remain firmly rooted at the national or local level. The weak
influence of traditional democracy in matters of global governance
is one reason why citizens in much of the world are urging greater
democratic accountability of international organisations.
Parliaments and their members are acutely aware of this and, as the
chapter illustrates, are seeking to meet the challenge it poses to them. As part
of their efforts, they also engage in global and regional parliamentary cooperation,
which we will describe in section three.
Parliamentary involvement
in multilateral affairs
As we have seen, the key challenge to parliamentary involvement in
international or multilateral affairs is that in almost all countries foreign affairs
and international policy have traditionally been regarded as the exclusive
domain of the Executive. Today, the distinction between foreign or international
and national or domestic has become increasingly blurred. Parliaments
must therefore step beyond the traditional Executive prerogative in international
affairs, and subject governments to the same degree of oversight as in
the domestic policy arena.
What this might involve was clearly outlined in the Declaration of the First
Conference of Presiding Officers of Parliaments (2000):
The parliamentary dimension [to international cooperation] must be
provided by parliaments themselves first of all at the national level in
four distinct but interconnected ways:
■ Influencing their respective countries’ policy on matters dealt with
in the United Nations and other international negotiating forums;
■ Keeping themselves informed of the progress and outcome of these
negotiations;
■ Deciding on ratification, where the Constitution so foresees, of texts
and treaties signed by governments; and
■ Contributing actively to the subsequent implementation process.