The Significance of Rituals in Parliament

Crewe, Emma; Evans, Paul

Abstract

Rituals are traditionally associated with religion and royalty, but can be found operating widely across society in sport, the military, politics and even in the private sphere. Rituals and symbols, and the power relationships that they relate to, are important in all political institutions including Parliament. Describing all Parliament's formal and informal rituals, and the rules and symbols within them, could consume volumes, so our chapter merely highlights some to reveal their political and social significance. We explain the centrality of rules in rituals, how parliamentary debates are ritualized for various reasons (to reconcile differences or emphasize hierarchies), and how ceremonies order relationships between different groups in our political world.

Citation

Crewe, E., & Evans, P. (2018). The Significance of Rituals in Parliament. In C. Leston-Bandeira, & L. Thompson (Eds.), Exploring Parliament (43-52). Oxford University Press

• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2018
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 43-52
• Book Title: Exploring Parliament
• ISBN: 9780198788430
• Keywords: Parliamentary rituals
• Publisher URL: https://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/exploring-parliament-9780198788430?cc=gb&lang=en&