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Publication Detailed Description
Journal Title
Journal of Legislative Studies
Year (definitive publication)
2010
Language
English
Country
United Kingdom
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Abstract
Do European political parties represent the ideology of their voters well? This research aims to provide an empirical appreciation of the levels to which MPs ideologically represent their electorates within political parties in twelve European countries. The variable used is left-right self-placement and representation is measured through congruence. Three main hypotheses are tested. First, MPs express greater ideological extremism than voters. Second, MPs have biased perceptions on the positioning of their electorates. Third, New Left parties exhibit higher levels of representation than the other parties. Our findings reveal that only the second hypothesis can be supported without restrictions.
Acknowledgements
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Keywords
Political parties, Congruence, Left-right, MPs, Voters
Fields of Science and Technology Classification
- Law - Social Sciences
- Political Science - Social Sciences
