Politicians are more likely to forward constituent inquiries to the appropriate level if they are of the same party as the recipient

The UK has enjoyed a significant degree of multi-tiered governance since the introduction of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, with recent events suggesting this dynamic will intensify further. Here, Audrey André, Jonathan Bradbury, and Sam Depauw look at constituent correspondence patterns, and find that politicians are much more likely to forward correspondence to the appropriate level if they are of the same party as the recipient, creating blurred lines of accountability and increasing confusion for the constituent

MPs’ principals and the substantive representation of disadvantaged immigrant groups

This article provides an alternative understanding of the substantive representation of immigrant-origin citizens compared to previous work in the ‘politics of presence’ tradition. Rather than assuming that the representational activities of members of parliaments (MPs) are underpinned by intrinsic motivations, it highlights extrinsic motives. Drawing on principal–agent theory, the article conceptualises MPs as delegates who are to act on behalf of their main principals, constituents and party bodies. This approach permits the rigorous analysis of the impact of electoral rules, candidate selection methods and legislative organisation on substantive representation. Based on an analysis of more than 20,000 written parliamentary questions tabled in the 17th German Bundestag (2009–2013), empirical findings suggest that electoral rules do not influence the relationship between MPs and their principals in relation to the substantive representation of disadvantaged immigrant groups; however, results indicate that candidate selection methods as well as powerful parliamentary party group leaderships do

Rebellen in het parlement: fractiecohesie in de Kamer van volksvertegenwoordigers (1991-95)

Centrum voor Politicologie (OE)nrpages: 262status: publishe

Het efficiënte geheim in de partij?

Centrum voor Politicologie (OE)status: publishe

Fractiecohesie en effectiviteit van parlementen

status: publishe

Comment le bureaux contrôle-t-il les groupes parlementaires?

Centrum voor Politicologie (OE)status: publishe

Looking beyond the district: The representation of geographical sub-constituencies across Europe

A key question in representation is how institutional settings bring about particular representational roles among legislators. In this regard, the strategic dilemma that representatives face of whether to represent all people in the district equally or, alternatively, to prioritize some area within the district, has been vastly understudied. Using innovative survey data collected in 12 European democracies, we demonstrate that a striking number of legislators favour representing the interests of their home town over the district as a whole and that the number of representatives elected by the district critically impacts their choice as to whom to represent. As district magnitude increases, an increasing number of legislators will not cater to district opinion but will prioritize the interests of a geographical sub-constituency. These findings have important implications for the study of political representation, challenging the conventional wisdom that – compared to single-seat districts – proportional representation tends not to provide geographical representation.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe