College 1 - Studying Political Representation
Delegates = follow the expressed will of the citizens
Trustees = follow their own judgement of the best action to pursue
Four types of representation
1. Formalistic = about the institutions that enable representation, what
are the arrangements for authorization / accountability
2. Symbolic = (how) does the representative stand for a group/nation as
a symbol?
3. Descriptive = do representatives resemble the electorate
4. Substantive = is the policy in line with the people’s will
Chain of representation = citizens’ preferences → political parties →
parliament → governments → policies
College 2 - Electoral Rules and the Quality of Representation
Types of electoral systems → majority / plurality system and proportional
system.
Attributes to categorise disproportionality in the system
● Electoral formula = method used to calculate the allocation of seats
based on votes
● District magnitude = number of representatives elected from each
district
● Electoral threshold = minimum percentage of votes needed for a
party to gain representation
, ● Membership of the elected body = total number of seats in legislative
body
● Influence of presidential elections = two-party presidential race may
encourage two-party legislative race
● Malapportionment = number of the elected in different districts poorly
allocated based on populations (mismatch district population / vote
share)
● Interparty personal links = extent to which electoral rules encourage
or discourage cooperation between parties.
Majoritarian systems may enhance government accountability and clarity
of responsibility. Proportional systems are better at ensuring that
legislative bodies reflect the ideological diversity of the electorate.
Types of congruence
● One-to-one congruence = citizen-representative
● Many-to-one congruence = distribution citizens - representative
● Many-to-many congruence = distribution citizens - distribution
representatives
Traditional measures of representation overlook the complexity of how
citizen preferences are translated into legislative outcomes. Therefore a
new measure: many-to-many congruence. This captures the relationship
between the ideological preferences of both citizens and
representatives, rather than just the alignment of the median voter with
the government.
Proportional systems are generally better at translating the diverse
preferences of the electorate into legislative representation, leading to
more representative legislatures.
, College 3 - Public Competence and Policy Responsiveness
Thermostatic Model = a responsive public will behave much like a
thermostat, adjusting its preferences for more or less policy in response
to what policymakers do.
The representation of public opinion presupposes that the public actually
notices and responds to what policymakers do. It means that the public
must acquire and process information about policy, and adjust its
preferences accordingly. without such responsiveness, policymakers
would have little incentive to represent what the public wants in policy –
without public responsiveness, expressed public preferences would
contain little meaningful information.
For instance, if government spending in a particular policy area
(e.g., health care, education) is perceived as too high, public
opinion shifts toward preferring less spending. Conversely, if
spending is perceived as too low, the public demands more.
The model assumes that policymakers respond to these shifts in public
opinion. When the public signals dissatisfaction with current policies,
governments adjust their policies accordingly, bringing them closer to
public preferences.
Dynamic interaction → Public opinion is dynamic and reactive,
constantly adjusting based on perceptions of policy outputs.
Policymakers, in turn, react to public preferences, leading to a feedback
loop between public opinion and policy.
Delegates = follow the expressed will of the citizens
Trustees = follow their own judgement of the best action to pursue
Four types of representation
1. Formalistic = about the institutions that enable representation, what
are the arrangements for authorization / accountability
2. Symbolic = (how) does the representative stand for a group/nation as
a symbol?
3. Descriptive = do representatives resemble the electorate
4. Substantive = is the policy in line with the people’s will
Chain of representation = citizens’ preferences → political parties →
parliament → governments → policies
College 2 - Electoral Rules and the Quality of Representation
Types of electoral systems → majority / plurality system and proportional
system.
Attributes to categorise disproportionality in the system
● Electoral formula = method used to calculate the allocation of seats
based on votes
● District magnitude = number of representatives elected from each
district
● Electoral threshold = minimum percentage of votes needed for a
party to gain representation
, ● Membership of the elected body = total number of seats in legislative
body
● Influence of presidential elections = two-party presidential race may
encourage two-party legislative race
● Malapportionment = number of the elected in different districts poorly
allocated based on populations (mismatch district population / vote
share)
● Interparty personal links = extent to which electoral rules encourage
or discourage cooperation between parties.
Majoritarian systems may enhance government accountability and clarity
of responsibility. Proportional systems are better at ensuring that
legislative bodies reflect the ideological diversity of the electorate.
Types of congruence
● One-to-one congruence = citizen-representative
● Many-to-one congruence = distribution citizens - representative
● Many-to-many congruence = distribution citizens - distribution
representatives
Traditional measures of representation overlook the complexity of how
citizen preferences are translated into legislative outcomes. Therefore a
new measure: many-to-many congruence. This captures the relationship
between the ideological preferences of both citizens and
representatives, rather than just the alignment of the median voter with
the government.
Proportional systems are generally better at translating the diverse
preferences of the electorate into legislative representation, leading to
more representative legislatures.
, College 3 - Public Competence and Policy Responsiveness
Thermostatic Model = a responsive public will behave much like a
thermostat, adjusting its preferences for more or less policy in response
to what policymakers do.
The representation of public opinion presupposes that the public actually
notices and responds to what policymakers do. It means that the public
must acquire and process information about policy, and adjust its
preferences accordingly. without such responsiveness, policymakers
would have little incentive to represent what the public wants in policy –
without public responsiveness, expressed public preferences would
contain little meaningful information.
For instance, if government spending in a particular policy area
(e.g., health care, education) is perceived as too high, public
opinion shifts toward preferring less spending. Conversely, if
spending is perceived as too low, the public demands more.
The model assumes that policymakers respond to these shifts in public
opinion. When the public signals dissatisfaction with current policies,
governments adjust their policies accordingly, bringing them closer to
public preferences.
Dynamic interaction → Public opinion is dynamic and reactive,
constantly adjusting based on perceptions of policy outputs.
Policymakers, in turn, react to public preferences, leading to a feedback
loop between public opinion and policy.
