Accounting for resilience of parliamentary democracy during the Covid-19 pandemic

Which factors account for resilience of national parliamentary democracy during the Covid-19 pandemic? During the pandemic national parliaments in EU member states have adopted various measures facilitating the exercise of its representative, legislative and control function under unusual circumstances. As the literature demonstrates, the impact of the pandemic varied across the states: while some parliaments have suffered disempowerment, others have managed to defend its powers. Yet, while most authors have focused on factors accounting for the decline of democratic standards, factors accounting for resilience remain understudied. This article aims to fill that gap by examining (with help of a QCA model) which factors have fostered parliamentary resilience in selected EU member states. The empirical data focuses on (1) executive-legislative relation as well as (2) the legislative practice. In doing so, the paper also considers the role of digitalisation of parliamentary work and procedures and its impact on resilience. The empirical findings of the paper contribute to normative debates concerning the resilience of democracy under crisis and the role of innovative practices.