Political representation in France and Germany. Attitudes and activities of citizens and MPs

Summary:

Notwithstanding its contemporary critics, political representation remains at the core of democratic politics. Based on a comparative research project that gathered data from observations, surveys, experiments and expert interviews, this book examines the process and the quality of political representation in France and Germany from a dual perspective.

First, it analyzes MPs’ behavior during their district activities. Second, it investigates the perceptions and evaluations of the represented, the French and German citizens. In ten chapters different facets of MPs’ activities as well as citizens’ attitudes are comparatively investigated.

The book is relevant for politics scholars and practitioners at national parliaments to better understand representative democracies, and it may also contribute to improve representation itself.

Contents:

1. Introduction: political representation in France and Germany | Oscar W. Gabriel, Eric Kerrouche, Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer and Sven T. Siefken
2. Parliament centred or constituency centred? The professionalization of the parliamentary mandate | Eric Kerrouche and Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer
3. Available, accessible and ready to listen: MPs’ district work | Sven T. Siefken and Olivier Costa
4. Where is the party? Party work and party representation in the district | Elisa Deiss-Helbig, Danny Schindler and Laure Squarcioni
5. Show or substance? The exchange between district and parliamentary activities | Corentin Poyet and Sven T. Siefken
6. Can you hear me? Political communication between MPs and citizens | Luisa Schittny and Tinette Schnatterer
7. “Oh, that is a big word.” MPs’ and citizens’ perspectives on parliamentary representation | Mirjam Dageförde and Danny Schindler
8. Substance or behaviour as links? Explaining representational judgments | Mirjam Dageförde, Eric Kerrouche and Corentin Poyet
9. Participation and representation: background and beliefs of activists and the inactive | Oscar W. Gabriel
10. Can we trust our representatives? Attitudes towards representation and political trust | Oscar W. Gabriel and Lena Masch
11. Do candidates’ ethnic background and gender matter? An experimental approach | Sylvain Brouard, Elisa Deiss-Helbig and Mirjam Dageförde
12. Some conclusions on the relationship between citizens and their representatives in France and Germany | Gerhard Loewenberg