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.

Provides the first comparative study on political representation in France and Germany Mixes quantitative and qualitative methods to cover MPs' attitudes and activities as well as citizens' perpsectives Makes an important contribution to the debate on the future of democratic government

Autorentext

Oscar W. Gabriel is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Stuttgart, Institute for Social Science, Germany. His wide ranging work has particularly focused on political representation in France and Germany. His most recent books are Society and Democracy in Europe (with Silke I. Keil, 2013) and Political Participation in France and Germany (with Silke I. Keil and Eric Kerrouche, 2012).

Eric Kerrouche is CNRS Senior Researcher at Sciences-Po Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, France. He has widely published on the French Fifth Republic, on Parliament and MPs. His major publications include Political Participation in France and Germany (with Oscar Gabriel and Silke I. Keil, 2012) and Qui sont les députés français? (with Olivier Costa, 2007).

Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer is Professor of Government and Policy Research and Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen (ZParl). She has published extensively on parliamentary government, in particular on the German Bundestag, most recently on the status of MPs and their remuneration.

Inhalt

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