Modes of Political Representation: Toward a New Typology

The mandate-independence controversy still features prominently in studies of political representation even though the problems with its theoretical foundation and empirical operationalization have long been recognized. This article proposes an alternative typology of modes of representation. By combining type of control (ex ante or ex post) with direction of the interactions (bottom-up or top-down), our study captures the most important aspects of the relationship between voters and representatives. We demonstrate how the typology can be used in a survey instrument by comparing the attitudes toward representation of Dutch members of Parliament with the attitudes held by voters, and by relating the views of the members to their behavior

COVID-19 in parliamentary debates: opposition sentiment started out relatively positive towards the government but increasingly became more negative

Or Tuttnauer, Tom Louwerse, Rudy Andeweg, and Ulrich Sieberer analyse opposition party sentiment in relation to government actions and policies during the first six months of 2020. Drawing on parliamentary debates in four countries, including the UK, they observe an initial positive opposition sentiment which turned more negative as the first wave abated

Een democratic audit in Nederland

Het (dis)functioneren van de democratie blijft de gemoederen in Nederland bezighouden. In het verleden leverden ambtenaren en (ex-)politici al kritische bijdragen over dit onderwerp. Zo voerde het ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties in 2006 een democratic audit uit, die resulteerde in het rapport De Staat van onze democratie, en publiceerde de Raad voor het openbaar bestuur onlangs de beschouwing Vertrouwen op democratie. Met de presentatie van het tweeluik Democratie doorgelicht en Van afspiegelen naar afrekenen? is het nu de beurt aan de academische gemeenschap. Een vijftigtal bestuurskundigen en politicologen heeft, op basis van een inventarisatie van bestaand empirisch onderzoek, de Nederlandse democratie de maat genomen

Do Groups Exclude Others More Readily Than Individuals in Coalition Formation?

The present research compared interindividual and intergroup coalition processes. We examined whether groups are more likely to form small coalitions than individuals, and whether this tendency would depend on the social value orientation of the coalition party. Consistent with our hypothesis, results revealed that proselfs formed more small coalitions in intergroup settings than in interindividual settings whereas prosocials formed a similar number of small coalitions in both intergroup and interindividual settings. These and complementary findings add credence to the claim that people who are self-oriented are more likely to exclude others to maximize their own payoff and that such processes are especially pronounced in intergroup settings

Coalition theories: empirical evidence for dutch municipalities

The paper analyzes coalition formation in Dutch municipalities. After discussing the main features of the institutional setting, several theories are discussed, which are classified as size oriented, policy oriented and actor oriented models. A test statistic is proposed to determine the predictive power of these models. The empirical analysis shows that strategic positions as well as some of the distinguished preferences are important in the setting of Dutch municipalities. Especially, the dominant minimum number principle yields highly significant results for coalition formations in the period 1978–1986

Coalition governance and foreign policy decision making

This article explores processes of coalition governance in foreign policy. Specifically, it argues that such processes are shaped by two interrelated dimensions of coalition set-up: first, the allocation of the foreign ministry to the senior or a junior coalition partner and, second, the degree of policy discretion which is delegated to that ministry. Bringing these two dimensions together, the article distinguishes four types of coalition arrangement for the making of foreign policy, which are expected to have predictable implications for the process of foreign policy-making and, ultimately, for the foreign policy outputs of multi-party coalitions and their quality

Risk factors for acute respiratory tract infections in general practitioner patients in The Netherlands: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) are an important public health problem. Improved identification of risk factors might enable targeted intervention. Therefore we carried out a case-control study with the aim of identifying environmental risk factors for ARTI consultations in the Dutch general population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A subset of patients visiting their GP in the period of 2000–2003 with an ARTI (cases) and age-matched controls (visiting for other complaints) were included in a case-control study. They were asked to complete a questionnaire about potential risk factors. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio's (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to estimate the independent effect of potential risk factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 493 matched pairs of case and control subjects were enrolled. Exposure to persons with respiratory complaints, both inside and outside the household, was found to be an independent risk factor for visiting a GP with an ARTI (respectively OR_adj= 1.9 and OR_adj= 3.7). Participants exposed to dampness or mould at home (OR_adj=0.5) were significantly less likely to visit their GP. In accordance with the general risk of consultations for ARTI, participants with a laboratory-confirmed ARTI who were exposed to persons with respiratory complaints outside the household were also significantly more likely to visit their GP (OR_adj=2.5).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study confirmed that heterogeneity in the general population as well as in pathogens causing ARTI makes it complicated to detect associations between potential risk factors and respiratory infections. Whereas it may be difficult to intervene on the risk posed by exposure to persons with respiratory complaints, transmission of ARTI in the general population might be reduced by improved hygienic conditions.</p

Election proximity and representation focus in party-constrained environments

Do elected representatives have a time-constant representation focus or do they adapt their focus depending on election proximity? In this article, we examine these overlooked theoretical and empirical puzzles by looking at how reelection-seeking actors adapt their legislative behavior according to the electoral cycle. In parliamentary democracies, representatives need to serve two competing principals: their party and their district. Our analysis hinges on how representatives make a strategic use of parliamentary written questions in a highly party-constrained institutional context to heighten their reselection and reelection prospects. Using an original data set of over 32,000 parliamentary questions tabled by Portuguese representatives from 2005 to 2015, we examine how time interacts with two key explanatory elements: electoral vulnerability and party size. Results show that representation focus is not static over time and, in addition, that electoral vulnerability and party size shape strategic use of parliamentary questions