Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Introduction to Political Science

Introduction

Introduction to Political ScienceIntroduction
In a legislative chamber an assembly of professionally dressed people stand behind wooden desks, arranged in a tiered semicircle, facing a long rostrum, while additional people stand and look on from the gallery above.
Figure 9.1 The Congress of Peru is a unicameral legislature in which legislators are selected to represent each regional district as well as two special districts, for Lima Province and Peruvian citizens abroad. Seats are assigned based on population in multimember districts. (credit: “Presidente del Congreso en Sesión Solemne” by Congreso de la República del Perú/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Chapter Outline

9.1 What Do Legislatures Do?
9.2 What Is the Difference between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems?
9.3 What Is the Difference between Unicameral and Bicameral Systems?
9.4 The Decline of Legislative Influence

A legislature is a deliberative body that is granted the authority to create laws to govern a society. When the term legislature comes up, people often think of national legislatures, such as the US Congress or the National Congress of Argentina. However, city councils and state legislatures also play a significant role in governing our everyday lives, and supranational legislatures, such as the European Parliament, can have a profound impact by setting policies on trade and migration across many countries. Though legislatures are deliberative bodies generally focused on passing laws, their role is much more complex.

This chapter will explore what it is that legislatures do, examine the impact that differences in legislative structure can have on the political system, and consider the challenges that legislatures face.

PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-political-science/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Apr 26, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.