Authors: Lipset
Summary: In about 7800 words, the entry first defines legislatures (also called parliaments) as " assemblies of elected representatives from geographically defined constituencies, with lawmaking and other functions in the governmental process". The entry then describes the properties of legislatures such as size and functions and extensively reviews their historical origins, development, organization and procedures.
In the class based, pre-democratic, albeit pluralistic society, the representatives of the various estates gathered in assemblies and were consulted by monarchs about issues of peace and war, taxation and the administration of justice. The use to call this kind of assembly "legislature" came from the British, but it took root only with American revolutionists.
Efforts to democratize legislatures went into two directions, i.e. the extending of the right to choose members and the broadening of membership eligibility. Consequently, the parliaments represented no longer the estates, but the whole nation, which came to be organized on both a territorial basis and a partisan one (parties mobilize voting).
The "electoral connection", however imperfect, guarantees the responsiveness of the representatives to the voters, the former being trustees of the interests of the latter.
This task is made possible both by external pressures (lobbying) and by legislatures internal organization in specialized committees. The risk of "distributive politics", i.e. of vote trading among representatives to secure the majority in issues of concern, is diminished both by parties and by the uncertainty about policies consequences.
The entry closes with a review of both the criticisms levied on legislatures and the challenges they face nowadays.