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Two more categories of cooperation can be distinguished by analyzing the international activity of
different national parliaments: prescribed (when the activity stems from the provisions of an
international treaty defining the participants’ roles in a given international entity) and optional (when
the activity stems from the sovereign decisions of the parliamentarians) (Florczak-Wątor & Czarny
2012: 60). In presenting this typology, it is also worth noting that inter-parliamentary cooperation can
be self-generated (autonomous) or complementary (incorporated into the operations of a given
organization) (Florczak-Wątor & Czarny 2012: 60). It can also be either consistent and
institutionalized or temporary and provisional (Florczak-Wątor & Czarny 2012: 61). As shown above,
the evolution of the international activity of parliamentary institutions is a highly complex process,
which renders its evaluation difficult and the effectiveness of the institutions themselves problematic
(Supranational parliamentary and interparliamentary assemblies in 21st century Europe 2007;
Supranational parliamentary and interparliamentary assemblies in 21st century Europe 2007; Šabič
2008: 261).
At this juncture, I will focus on the most important of the many currents that come under this
‘transnational parliamentarianism’ (Marschall 2007) – one which manifests itself in international
parliamentary institutions, otherwise known as parliamentary assemblies. Its origins can be traced to
the creation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1899, though it was not until the 1940s and 1950s
that it entered the phase of dynamic growth in which it remains today (Tedoldi 2014). The 1980s and
1990s saw a significant increase in the overall number of parliamentary assemblies, which derived both
from the end of long-standing Cold War rivalries and from accelerated European integration (Herranz
2005) coupled with the march of globalization. Marschall points out that modern-day parliamentary
assemblies, despite their European heritage, exist across the world, and will continue to proliferate
even more dynamically outside of Europe in tandem with increasing regionalization and
democratization (Marschall 2007: 3-4).
Today, two of the basic qualities of parliamentary assemblies are the fact that they are composed of
delegations from different national parliaments, and the fact that they pursue a consistent and
institutionalized agenda, typically outlined in a charter or statute. Many parliamentary assemblies lift
institutional approaches (e.g. in structure or manner of operation) that work effectively on the national
level (Marschall 2007: 12). A large majority of assemblies are affiliated (though in different ways) with
intergovernmental organizations, and many of them additionally form an integral part of the structures
of other transnational institutions (Marschall 2007). This ‘tethering’ has an important effect on the
range of issues they undertake, the effectiveness of their policy decisions, and the sway they hold over
decision processes on both the national and international level. Marschall clarifies, however, that the
real clout of parliamentary assemblies is manifested in their contribution to the development of
multilevel parliamentarism (Marschall 2007), which is gaining importance in governance as it is
envisioned by modern international relations (Jancic 2014; Crum, Fossum 2009).
To round out these considerations on the various forms of international activity of parliamentary
institutions, it should be noted that the legislatures of the Nordic countries have always played an
active role in their development (Götz 2009, 2005). Close collaboration among the Nordic parliaments
has been ongoing since the end of the 19th century, and in 1907 this collaboration was formalized in
Łuszczuk