The link between representatives and constituencies is a vital part of the political life in every democracy. In most countries citizens’ votes are clustered in electoral districts, and political representatives are to varying degrees accountable to the districts (constituencies) that elected them. So, How do MPs behave in their home constituency?; How do MPs use the parliamentary floor to cater to districts’ interests?; How are recruitment and post-assignment in parliament used to connect with constituencies? Which factors explain differences in constituency-focus? These are some of the questions that animate the project HOME. The analysis unfolds in the context of a Small-N comparative study including Ghana and South Africa. These are two of the most established democracies in Africa, with remarkable records of free and fair elections and highly institutionalized party systems. However, they have important institutional and contextual differences that make the empirical analysis of constituency service relevant. The project applies an ambitious mixed methods research strategy that combines different types of quantitative (surveys, MPs’ biographies, parliamentary activity) and qualitative (documental research, interviews) data to answer the research questions and test different set of hypotheses. 

The project aims to answer the following research question: What explains the success of transitional justice (TJ)? Findings in this field have been inconclusive partly due to the quality of existing datasets at three levels: inadequate unit of analysis (country); absence of data to measure TJ outcome; lack of contextual/control variables. This project offers to build a new large dataset covering European, Latin American, African and Asian countries that experienced transitions from authoritarianism and/or conflict situations. A second dataset will be created to measure TJ outcome through expert surveys. The two new sets will enable us to answer the research question through a two-step strategy: first, the development of a TJ typology; second, the identification of explanatory factors through statistical analysis. This original dataset will offer an important theoretical contribution and be available in open access. An Observatory will be created to monitor developments in TJ worldwide.