Suchergebnisse

Media attention is a crucial factor determining what issues make it onto the political agenda. However, studies have also shown that this political agenda-setting effect is not automatic. The present study conceptualizes the media's influence on politics as a function of the media message and the background of politicians and focuses on the moment a member of parliament (MP) learns about an issue through a news report. What aspects of a news report make politicians take action? And are some politicians more likely to take action than others? It introduces an innovative factorial survey experiment to isolate media effects by asking Swiss politicians ( N = 50) to evaluate fictional news reports. Analyses show that news reports on an issue their party owns covering a negative development published in a quality newspaper are more likely to lead to action. However, negative news mainly affects junior MPs. In contrast to previous studies, issue specialization of the MP does not have a significant effect. Findings are discussed in light of the role of the political system and the power of the media in politics.

The ability of Members of Parliament (MPs) to know the policy preferences of their party voters is a precondition for substantive representation. This study investigates whether MPs' perceptions of their party voters' opinions are more accurate with policy statements on which they are competent—namely, those that are owned by their party and in which the MPs have specialised. It combines unique data from citizen surveys and face-to-face meetings with 367 MPs in Belgium, Canada, Germany and Switzerland. Both citizens and MPs evaluated the same statements, and MPs also estimated the support for each statement among their party voters. The comparison of party voters' preferences and MPs' estimations shows that MPs are more accurate on statements owned by their party, but not on issues they themselves specialise in through committee membership. Party issue ownership plays an important role in determining MPs' perceptual accuracy and, hence, democratic representation.

Abstract
Why do politicians react to some stories in the news and ignore others? We attempt to answer this question by
integrating the micro-level politician perspective with a macro-level country approach. Using a unique experimental approach, we
test when politicians in the Netherlands and Switzerland (N = 80) take political action based on a (fictional)
news report. We find that all politicians react more to negative coverage, but not if the information is merely presented as
investigative reporting. Results also reveal a systematic variation that we ascribe to two key differences in the electoral
systems. In The Netherlands, with its large single voting district, politicians react to news reports covering issues they are
specialized in. In Switzerland, where between-party competition is more important, politicians are more likely to capitalize on
the party's profile. Overall, this study shows when and how politicians react to news coverage also depends on the institutional
context.

AbstractElected members of parliament (MPs) are supposed to represent their constituents and, thus, to have an accurate perception of citizens' policy preferences. It is often assumed that direct democracy instruments, such as the popular initiative and the referendum, have a positive impact on MPs' perceptual accuracy. This study assesses whether direct democracy has the expected positive effect in Switzerland. It measures how accurately MPs perceive their constituents' opinions on a variety of policy proposals through a parallel survey of 97 national MPs and 4677 citizens. Empirical evidence shows that MPs perceive policy proposals that have been subjected to a direct democracy vote more accurately. Furthermore, MPs have a higher perceptual accuracy if the policy proposal submitted to a popular vote was conflictual with a narrow ballot outcome. Direct democracy thus fosters political representation as popular votes constitute an important source of information and sustain MPs' ability to accurately assess citizens' preferences.

This study analyses how information provided by different types of interest groups influences the ability of members of parliament (MPs) to accurately perceive the preferences of those citizens who voted them into office. To study how information provision by interest groups affects MPs' perceptions, we combine unique data from a citizen survey and face-to-face meetings with 151 federal MPs in Switzerland, thus enabling a comparison of actual voter preferences with MPs' estimations of these preferences. Ties to citizen groups, as self-reported by MPs in our survey, relate to more accurate perceptions by MPs, even when controlling for MPs' partisan affiliation. Ties to business groups, as declared in the official registry, relate to less accurate perceptions. These findings suggest that interest groups can both tighten and weaken MPs' link to their party voters, which might have repercussions on substantive representation and democratic accountability.

This study analyses how information provided by different types of interest groups influences the ability of members of parliament (MPs) to accurately perceive the preferences of those citizens who voted them into office. To study how information provision by interest groups affects MPs' perceptions, we combine unique data from a citizen survey and face-to-face meetings with 151 federal MPs in Switzerland, thus enabling a comparison of actual voter preferences with MPs' estimations of these preferences. Ties to citizen groups, as self-reported by MPs in our survey, relate to more accurate perceptions by MPs, even when controlling for MPs' partisan affiliation. Ties to business groups, as declared in the official registry, relate to less accurate perceptions. These findings suggest that interest groups can both tighten and weaken MPs' link to their party voters, which might have repercussions on substantive representation and democratic accountability.

Elected members of parliament (MPs) are supposed to represent their constituents and, thus, to have an accurate perception of citizens' policy preferences. It is often assumed that direct democracy instruments, such as the popular initiative and the referendum, have a positive impact on MPs' perceptual accuracy. This study assesses whether direct democracy has the expected positive effect in Switzerland. It measures how accurately MPs perceive their constituents' opinions on a variety of policy proposals through a parallel survey of 97 national MPs and 4677 citizens. Empirical evidence shows that MPs perceive policy proposals that have been subjected to a direct democracy vote more accurately. Furthermore, MPs have a higher perceptual accuracy if the policy proposal submitted to a popular vote was conflictual with a narrow ballot outcome. Direct democracy thus fosters political representation as popular votes constitute an important source of information and sustain MPs' ability to accurately assess citizens' preferences.

This study analyses how information provided by different types of interest groups influences the ability of members of parliament (MPs) to accurately perceive the preferences of those citizens who voted them into office. To study how information provision by interest groups affects MPs' perceptions, we combine unique data from a citizen survey and face-to-face meetings with 151 federal MPs in Switzerland, thus enabling a comparison of actual voter preferences with MPs' estimations of these preferences. Ties to citizen groups, as revealed in a survey, relate to more accurate perceptions by MPs, even when controlling for MPs' partisan affiliation. Ties to business groups, as revealed in the official registry, relate to less accurate perceptions. These findings suggest that interest groups can both tighten and weaken MPs' link to their party voters, which might have repercussions on substantive representation and democratic accountability.