The Disruptive Effects of Polarization on the Law-Making Process

The Disruptive Effects of Polarization on the Law-Making Process

By David Jágr, University in Prague and Zdenka Mansfeldová, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Krastev (Reference Krastev2020) predicted that the world would change significantly after the COVID-19 pandemic. The world probably has not changed to the extent that he estimated. However, society and politics remain divided. An example of extreme political polarization at the elite level is legislative–executive relations in the Czech Republic. This country is a consolidated parliamentary democracy in Central Europe, consisting of a bicameral legislature, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate. This Spotlight article focuses only on the lower house of parliament—the Chamber of Deputies (hereinafter, the Chamber)—to which the government is accountable.