Political Representation in France and Germany Attitudes and Activities of Citizens and MPs

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.

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.