Doctoral Dissertation: Ideological Divisions in International Parliamentary Institutions (Siyana Timcheva)

The left-right dichotomy is deemed the “lingua franca” of domestic politics but whether this master cleavage is also applicable to the supranational level is a question that warrants a thorough analysis. My proposed dissertation project revolves around international parliamentary institutions with a special focus on the ones that are organized into formally recognized ideological factions. The theoretical conundrum that is posed here is why some supranational parliaments opt for left-right divisions instead of going for the more intuitive factions based on national belonging. The empirical dimension of the study will be concerned with finding out the extent to which the MPs vote alongside the ideological factions that they are a part of, and how much are their choices motivated by other loyalties. To this end, an analysis of roll-call votes will be employed. Additionally, interviews with MPs could be conducted in order to obtain their subjective opinions regarding the role of the left-right divide in supranational politics.

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