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In this paper we seek to explain IGR in Britain (with a focus on Scotland) and Belgium, and, respecting the general theme linking the papers of this panel, we also wish to consider the extent to which intergovernmental interactions in both countries have assumed a 'non-hierarchical' character. We define IGR as patterns of centralregional (vertical) or inter-regional (horizontal) interaction between different (levels of) government(s) within a state with a view of co-ordinating issues of mutual concern.i Furthermore, our paper analyses policy-coordination in three different settings: a devolved setting (Britain), a constitutionally federalized setting (Belgium) and a three-tiered EU setting (insofar as we also consider to what extent these regions interact with the European Union). We hypothesize that devolution or federalism as well as the interaction of either setting with the EU influences the nature of IGR and the capacity of the centre to engage in hierarchical policy co-ordination. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the level of unity in parliamentary parties has continued to increase. Whereas in Congress the party leadership’s capabilities to solve collective action problems and to reduce transaction costs have been in doubt, in parliamentary systems little seems to warrant such doubt. Therefore, the paper’s aim is to trace the party leadership’s particular capabilities to secure party unity in parliamentary systems by means of 1. contract design, 2. screening and selection, 3. monitoring and information requirements, and 4. institutional checks. To the extent that these capabilities affect members differently, it is possible to sketch their contours on the basis of who the rebels are. It is apparent that discipline is not readily explained in terms of rewards and punishments. Factions and tendencies provide perhaps the most valid prediction for dissent in France and the United Kingdom, whereas in Belgium the extra-parliamentary party leadership and a detailed policy agreement have a strong impact on members’ discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]