The Influence of Party Cohesion on Subjective Political Representation in the European Union

Term Paper (Advanced seminar) , 2019 , 22 Pages , Grade: 1,7

Politics - Topic: European Union

This research paper deals with the topic of the representation deficit in the European Parliament. It is observed, whether party cohesion as a form of legislative behaviour, influences the degree of citizens’ subjective perceptions of an adequate political representation. High levels of party cohesion are expected to create individual impressions of an adequate political representation.

To test this theory, I generated a roll-call votes dataset to measure party cohesion since 2017. Together with the latest version of the Eurobarometer dataset of 2018, I observe the subjective level of political representation. The empirical analysis through an ordered logistic regression shows that the hypothesis can cautiously be confirmed, meaning that higher levels of party cohesiveness are associated with higher degrees of subjective political representation.

Table of Contents

Abstract

1. Can party cohesion solve the representation deficit in the EU? An introduction

2. The accusation of a democratic deficit and the role of party cohesion: A literature review

3. How does party cohesion influence subjective political representation? A theoretical argument and hypothesis

4. An empirical analysis on the relationship of party cohesion and political representation
4.1 Description of the Data
4.2 Operationalisation of variables
4.3 Analysis of the Results

5. To what extent do higher degrees of party cohesion in the EP improve the subjective political representation of the electorate? Discussion and Conclusion

References

• College: University of Mannheim
• Course: Legislative Behaviour and Political Representation in the European Parliament
• Grade: 1,7
• Author: Maren Weiß (Author)
• Publication Year: 2019
• Pages: 22
• Catalog Number: V489709
• ISBN (eBook): 9783668974098
• ISBN (Book): 9783668974104
• Language: English
• Tags: influence, party, cohesion, subjective, political, representation, european, union