Representing Europe's citizens?: electoral institutions and the failure of parliamentary representation

This is the first book-length study of its kind to analyse the effects of electoral systems on the representative activities of elected parliamentary representatives. It will be of great interest to comparative legislative studies scholars and electoral systems specialists

This is the first book-length study of its kind to analyse the effects of electoral systems on the representative activities of elected parliamentary representatives. It will be of great interest to comparative legislative studies scholars and electoral systems specialists.

The past 15 years have seen declining public support for European integration, and widespread suggestions that a legitimacy crisis faces the European Union (EU). Many in the EU have believed that this problem could be effectively tackled by vesting greater powers in the European Parliament (EP), the Union's only directly-elected institution. The central argument of this book is that, while considerable efforts have been made to increase the status of the EP, it is in crucialrespects a failure as a representative body. This failure is grounded in the manner in which the parliament is elected. T

Introduction : representing Europe's citizens? -- Giving the people what they want : public attitudes to representation in the EU -- Electoral institutions and political representation -- Representation and electoral systems in Europe -- Representation in Europe : the institutions and the individuals -- Electoral institutions and geographical representation -- Electoral reform and the British MEP -- Life under list : representing a region -- Conclusion : the failure of parliamentary representation in Europe