Deliberative representation in parliament

This research sets out clarifying theoretically the relations with two democratically relevant concepts: political representation and deliberation. It does so by developing the idea of ‘deliberative representation’ and studying it empirically in a parliamentary context. Recent scholarship of representation, namely the constructivist turn, sees the concept of representation as dynamic and fluid. As such, this paradigm shift looks past the electoral notion that highlights the premise of interests and preferences. Scholarship on deliberation is similarly revising its focus. This research draws especially from the systemic approach to deliberation. It implies that loosening traditional normative criteria will advance the study of deliberation in politically charged settings such as legislatures. Both strands of theories are gradually assuming context and function sensitive perspectives that are merged in my reading of deliberative representation. The under-theorised link between representation and deliberation has resulted in shortage of empirical accounts of where representatives operate in. The research is motivated by a simple question: what do representatives actually do when they represent? Finding answers to this question helps in understanding what drives deliberation in parliaments. The proposed framework of deliberative representation allows a more nuanced outlook on representative activities and practices. Consequently, this refined perspective allows addressing and re-assessing some prevailing assumptions of political science about the strategic and adversarial incentives and orientations of elected representatives. In this research, the dynamics of deliberative representation are studied in and illustrated through a particular legislature, the Parliament of Finland. For this purpose, 60 Finnish Members of Parliament (and 5 parliamentary committee chairs) were interviewed over the period of 2008–2016. The research illustrates that although institutional and procedural settings of legislature incentivize representative practices, thus inducing deliberation in various ways, the contextual and functional interplay argued by deliberative representation adds to the analysis in novel ways. Three dominant contexts of representation are identified: the affirmative, operative and performative context. Each discussed context specifies how the functions of representation are established and carried out. Also, features relating to the deliberative process are explored. Finally, three deliberative modes are detected in the contexts of representation: what I call expressive-deliberative, strategic-deliberative and expressive-partisan deliberative mode. The novelty of this research lies in its aspiration to use the language of political theory more closely in conducting empirical inquiry. While doing that, it has also contributed to the scholarship on representative practices in parliaments. Finally, the research suggests that the contexts of representation are generally recognizable, and therefore they may find applications outside the parliamentary setting.Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tarkastella parlamenttia edustamisen ja deliberaation eli harkitsevan ja punnitsevan puheen paikkana. Tutkimuksen kysymyksenasettelu on lähtökohdiltaan teoreettinen. Se sijoittuu politiikan teorian, erityisesti deliberatiivisen demokratiateorian ja poliittista edustamista käsittelevien keskusteluiden läpileikkauskohtaan. Johtuen siitä, että edustamisen ja deliberaation välinen suhde on jokseenkin aliteoretisoitu, on myös tästä näkökulmasta tehtyjen, edustajien toiminnalliseen työympäristöön sijoittuvien empiiristen tutkimusten määrä vähäinen. Täten tutkimuksella on myös toinen tavoite: tuoda parlamentti ja siellä tapahtuva edustustoiminta empiirisen tutkimuksen kohteeksi. Tutkimuksen aineiston muodostaa 60 suomalaisen kansanedustajan (ja viiden valiokuntaneuvoksen) puolistrukturoidut tutkimushaastattelut, jotka on kerätty aikavälillä 2008–2016. Tutkimus lähtee liikkeelle hyvin yksinkertaisesta ajatuksesta: mitä edustajat oikeastaan käytännössä tekevät kun he edustavat? Tässä työssä hahmotellaan analyyttinen työkalu, deliberatiivinen edustaminen, jota tarkastellaan tutkimuksessa määriteltyjen kolmen edustamisen kontekstin kautta. Niissä edustamisella ja deliberaatiolla on omat tarkoituksensa ja tavoitteensa. Kansanedustajat tunnistavat nämä muutokset deliberaation käytössä ja hyödyntämisessä, kun kyseessä on esimerkiksi eduskuntaryhmän sisäinen toiminta, valiokunnan kokous tai istuntosalityöskentely. Affirmatiivinen konteksti selittää sitä, kuinka deliberatiivisessa edustamisessa tarvitaan muita oman mielipiteen punnintaan, peilaamiseen ja vahvistamiseen. Operatiivinen konteksti lähtee ajatuksesta, että edustamisessa halutaan saada asioita tehdyksi ja aikaiseksi. Tämä edellyttää kansanedustajilta yhteistyötä, kompromissikyvykkyyttä sekä myös tavoitteellista ja strategista deliberaatiota. Viimeiseksi, performativiisessa kontekstissa deliberatiivinen edustaminen osoittaa että ”asioita on saatu aikaiseksi”. Deliberaation tasapuolisuutta ja kuuntelevuutta korostavat elementit liudentuvat istuntosalityöskentelyssä. Menestyksekäs kansanedustaja kykenee toimimaan kaikissa edellä mainituissa konteksteissa: tietää asioista, mutta osoittaa myös kykyä kuunnella ja kunnioittaa muita sekä heidän mielipiteitään pystyessään samanaikaisesti ajamaan ja kommunikoimaan omia poliittisia tavoitteitaan. Deliberatiivisen edustamisen näkökulmasta todellinen jännite onkin eduskunnan näkyvän ja näkymättömän työn välillä ja tämän ristiriidan esilletuomisessa

Long Hours, Uneasy Feelings : Parliamentary Work in Denmark, Finland and Sweden

A correction has been published: Parliamentary Affairs, Volume 75, Issue 3, July 2022, Page 576, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsab034Politicians' work pressure is gaining more attention in parliamentary studies. To participate in the discussion about governing under pressure, this article offers an interdisciplinary approach to investigate how representatives navigate within a flexible, limitless work culture. This article presents a new inquiry to re-examine contemporary political agency by combining cultural studies theories with empirical insights in Nordic countries. By analysing 52 semi-structured interviews with MPs in Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the study finds that politics attracts people who want to change the world, but these attributes may initiate a vicious cycle, taking the form of psychological strain.Peer reviewe

Tropical and Boreal Forest Atmosphere Interactions: A Review

This review presents how the boreal and the tropical forests affect the atmosphere, its chemical composition, its function, and further how that affects the climate and, in return, the ecosystems through feedback processes. Observations from key tower sites standing out due to their long-term comprehensive observations: The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory in Central Amazonia, the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory in Siberia, and the Station to Measure Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations at Hyytiala in Finland. The review is complemented by short-term observations from networks and large experiments.The review discusses atmospheric chemistry observations, aerosol formation and processing, physiochemical aerosol, and cloud condensation nuclei properties and finds surprising similarities and important differences in the two ecosystems. The aerosol concentrations and chemistry are similar, particularly concerning the main chemical components, both dominated by an organic fraction, while the boreal ecosystem has generally higher concentrations of inorganics, due to higher influence of long-range transported air pollution. The emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds are dominated by isoprene and monoterpene in the tropical and boreal regions, respectively, being the main precursors of the organic aerosol fraction.Observations and modeling studies show that climate change and deforestation affect the ecosystems such that the carbon and hydrological cycles in Amazonia are changing to carbon neutrality and affect precipitation downwind. In Africa, the tropical forests are so far maintaining their carbon sink.It is urgent to better understand the interaction between these major ecosystems, the atmosphere, and climate, which calls for more observation sites, providing long-term data on water, carbon, and other biogeochemical cycles. This is essential in finding a sustainable balance between forest preservation and reforestation versus a potential increase in food production and biofuels, which are critical in maintaining ecosystem services and global climate stability. Reducing global warming and deforestation is vital for tropical forests

Tropical and Boreal Forest Atmosphere Interactions : A Review

This review presents how the boreal and the tropical forests affect the atmosphere, its chemical composition, its function, and further how that affects the climate and, in return, the ecosystems through feedback processes. Observations from key tower sites standing out due to their long-term comprehensive observations: The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory in Central Amazonia, the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory in Siberia, and the Station to Measure Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations at Hyytiala in Finland. The review is complemented by short-term observations from networks and large experiments. The review discusses atmospheric chemistry observations, aerosol formation and processing, physiochemical aerosol, and cloud condensation nuclei properties and finds surprising similarities and important differences in the two ecosystems. The aerosol concentrations and chemistry are similar, particularly concerning the main chemical components, both dominated by an organic fraction, while the boreal ecosystem has generally higher concentrations of inorganics, due to higher influence of long-range transported air pollution. The emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds are dominated by isoprene and monoterpene in the tropical and boreal regions, respectively, being the main precursors of the organic aerosol fraction. Observations and modeling studies show that climate change and deforestation affect the ecosystems such that the carbon and hydrological cycles in Amazonia are changing to carbon neutrality and affect precipitation downwind. In Africa, the tropical forests are so far maintaining their carbon sink. It is urgent to better understand the interaction between these major ecosystems, the atmosphere, and climate, which calls for more observation sites, providing long-term data on water, carbon, and other biogeochemical cycles. This is essential in finding a sustainable balance between forest preservation and reforestation versus a potential increase in food production and biofuels, which are critical in maintaining ecosystem services and global climate stability. Reducing global warming and deforestation is vital for tropical forests.Peer reviewe

Tropical and Boreal Forest Atmosphere Interactions : A Review

This review presents how the boreal and the tropical forests affect the atmosphere, its chemical composition, its function, and further how that affects the climate and, in return, the ecosystems through feedback processes. Observations from key tower sites standing out due to their long-term comprehensive observations: The Amazon Tall Tower Observatory in Central Amazonia, the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory in Siberia, and the Station to Measure Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations at Hyytiala in Finland. The review is complemented by short-term observations from networks and large experiments. The review discusses atmospheric chemistry observations, aerosol formation and processing, physiochemical aerosol, and cloud condensation nuclei properties and finds surprising similarities and important differences in the two ecosystems. The aerosol concentrations and chemistry are similar, particularly concerning the main chemical components, both dominated by an organic fraction, while the boreal ecosystem has generally higher concentrations of inorganics, due to higher influence of long-range transported air pollution. The emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds are dominated by isoprene and monoterpene in the tropical and boreal regions, respectively, being the main precursors of the organic aerosol fraction. Observations and modeling studies show that climate change and deforestation affect the ecosystems such that the carbon and hydrological cycles in Amazonia are changing to carbon neutrality and affect precipitation downwind. In Africa, the tropical forests are so far maintaining their carbon sink. It is urgent to better understand the interaction between these major ecosystems, the atmosphere, and climate, which calls for more observation sites, providing long-term data on water, carbon, and other biogeochemical cycles. This is essential in finding a sustainable balance between forest preservation and reforestation versus a potential increase in food production and biofuels, which are critical in maintaining ecosystem services and global climate stability. Reducing global warming and deforestation is vital for tropical forests.Peer reviewe

Miten vallan linnaketta pidetään pystyssä

Non peer reviewe

Empatian politiikka

Non peer reviewe