TY - JOUR
T1 - Issue Congruence across Legislative Terms: Examining the Democratic Party Mandate in the European Parliament
AU - Arnold, C.U.
AU - Sapir, E.V.
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - Much of the empowerment of the European Parliament over the years is due to its special role in providing a bridge connecting the public's policy preferences on the one hand, and the legislative behaviour of elected officials on the other. As the only popularly elected EU institution, successive treaty reforms increased the EP's political power. These reforms were accompanied by an explicit desire to see citizens' involvement in EU politics increase and, in turn, provide support and legitimacy to the European integration project. This paper models MEPs' track records on various political issues, and assesses the extent to which their output is in line with the positions their party campaigned on and the policy preferences expressed in public opinion. The findings suggest that there are discrete patterns of representation, where some parties are more inclined toward greater congruence with their selectorate and manifesto than others. Furthermore, the degree of congruence varies across policy issues and is shaped, to a large extent, by institutional arrangements and political context.
AB - Much of the empowerment of the European Parliament over the years is due to its special role in providing a bridge connecting the public's policy preferences on the one hand, and the legislative behaviour of elected officials on the other. As the only popularly elected EU institution, successive treaty reforms increased the EP's political power. These reforms were accompanied by an explicit desire to see citizens' involvement in EU politics increase and, in turn, provide support and legitimacy to the European integration project. This paper models MEPs' track records on various political issues, and assesses the extent to which their output is in line with the positions their party campaigned on and the policy preferences expressed in public opinion. The findings suggest that there are discrete patterns of representation, where some parties are more inclined toward greater congruence with their selectorate and manifesto than others. Furthermore, the degree of congruence varies across policy issues and is shaped, to a large extent, by institutional arrangements and political context.
U2 - 10.1080/01402382.2013.826033
DO - 10.1080/01402382.2013.826033
M3 - Article
SN - 0140-2382
VL - 36
SP - 1292
EP - 1308
JO - West European Politics
JF - West European Politics
IS - 6
ER -