Analysing Ceremony and Ritual in Parliament

Abstract

This article explores the importance of ceremony and ritual as a frame within which to examine political institutions such as parliaments. It suggests that through such analysis we can trace the circulation of meanings, the particularity of institutional cultures and the sedimentation of power in political institutions. Methodologically, the article challenges the popular view that ceremony and ritual can be regarded simply as ‘trappings’ of power; it thus emphasises their continued political relevance. Finally, the article assesses the values ascribed to particular forms of institutional power rather than the other – to understand why certain norms, rituals and ceremonies are normalised and others deemed deviant, thus rendering marginal those that are seen to be the ‘others’ within the institutional space.

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