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Title
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When do new issues appear? Punctuations in the Belgian executive agenda
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Author
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Abstract
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| This article investigates what might cause punctuations in the agenda of a country's executive branch by examining the annual prime minister's speeches to the Belgian Parliament (1993-2008). After having established that the Belgian executive agenda is punctuated, meaning it has long periods of stability that are offset by major shifts in attention, the article closely examines to what extent focusing events, leadership changes, and elections can explain these shifts. Focusing events that were specifically mentioned in the speech can explain seven of the 18 punctuations. They cannot shed light on what occurred in the other 11 cases. Changes in leadership also do not systematically cause punctuations. The 1999 election of Verhofstadt as prime minister can partly explain the four shifts in attention of that year, although the change in leadership from Verhofstadt to Leterme did not cause any significant alterations in the agenda. Finally, elections without a leadership change did not cause immediate shifts in attention. Focusing events, leadership changes, and elections together provide an explanation for 10 of the 18 punctuations. Acta Politica (2012) 47, 128-150. doi:10.1057/ap.2011.33; published online 30 December 2011 |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Acta politica : international journal of political science. - Meppel, 1965, currens
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Publication
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Meppel
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2012
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ISSN
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0001-6810
[print]
1741-1416
[online]
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DOI
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10.1057/AP.2011.33
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Volume/pages
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47
:2
(2012)
, p. 128-150
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ISI
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000302133300003
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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