Parties in the Parliament. Why, When and How do Parties Act in Unity? Parliamentary Party Groups in the Chamber of Deputies in the years 1998–2002

The main objective of the work is to answer the question of how Czech MPs and PPGs make
decisions. Thus main concerns of the authors are issues of PPG unity, the adopted mechanisms
of internal control and negotiation and, primarily, the factors that influence, structure
and restrict the behaviour of individual MPs and PPGs. The work focuses on the 3rd electoral
term of the Chamber of Deputies (1998–2002); in some cases a comparison with previous
terms is provided.
In the first chapter the authors briefly outline the frameworks they use to conceptualise
PPGs: the institutional rules and party hierarchy. Throughout the entire text they understand
the shape of PPGs or the unity of PPGs to be a dependent variable. Chapters 2 and 3 present
and explain the influence of independent variables. In Chapter 2, the basic institutional
rules and framework for the behaviour of PPGs in the Czech Republic are examined in
detail; the issues under focus include the relationship between the Chamber of Deputies and
the cabinet, the electoral system, the nature of the mandate and the rules for establishing
PPGs. In Chapter 3 PPGs are placed within the structure of the political party and the relationships
between individual party levels – MPs constituting the PPGs: the party in the government,
the party in the central office, and the party on the ground analysed. In Chapter 4
examines one of the basic activities of MPs and PPGs: voting in plenary sessions. Thus the
unity of PPGs, and MPs’ decision-making are explored. In the end, the authors attempt to
answer the question of what the main factors influencing the unity of Czech PPGs are.