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Though research provides ample evidence that mindfulness shapes psychological processes and states that are linked to political attitudes and behavior, political science has so far largely ignored mindfulness as a potential explanatory factor shaping political attitudes and actions. This literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the concept of mindfulness and outlines potential linkages between mindfulness and outlines political attitudes. I begin by identifying gaps in the literature on political attitude formation and change as well as its linkage to political behavior. I then introduce mindfulness as a multifaceted concept, discussing its definitional features and unravelling the mechanisms of mindfulness affecting cognitive and emotional abilities. Building on this foundation, I review research on correlates and effects of mindfulness on attitudes and behaviors related to the political domain, such as pro-environmentalism and pro-social behavior. Critically reflecting on extant research on mindfulness, I propose possible research avenues for political science that enhance its dialogue with neuroscience and social psychology.

Gender differences regarding the perception of and behaviour toward environmental problems are well documented: across countries, women express higher concern about the environment and are more likely to act pro-environmentally than men. Investigations of an environmental gender gap at elite level are, however, limited. To fill this void and to inquire whether female representatives are more likely to hold pro-environmental attitudes than their male colleagues and adjust their legislative behaviour accordingly, survey and roll call vote data of the sixth and seventh European Parliament are analysed. Male and female legislators expressed similar concern for the environment, yet women were significantly more likely to support environmental legislation than men even after controlling for political ideology and nationality. In light of the continuing underrepresentation of women across legislatures, these results indicate that environmental policies are disproportionally shaped by mens preferences. ; (VLID)4606575

AbstractIt is common wisdom that the increase in the number of women in parliament brought along a new diversity of perspectives presented in legislatures. So far, however, we know little about the implications of women's presence on party cohesion. Moving towards a more complete understanding of how women affect political processes, this article addresses the question, does gender affect vote defection from party lines, and if so, under what circumstances? We argue that the actual and perceived risk associated with vote defection in roll-call votes is gendered and that this is constraining the leeway of women to rebel. Analysing roll-call vote data of the German Bundestag (1953–2013) provided by Bergmann et al. (2018), we show that gender exerts a consistent effect only if electoral safety and policy content are considered: it is in feminine policy areas and at high levels of electoral security that women are more likely than men to rebel. This finding implies that taking different incentive structures into account is key if we want to understand gendered legislative behaviour.

It is common wisdom that the increase in the number of women in parliament brought along a new diversity of perspectives presented in legislatures. So far, however, we know little about the implications of women's presence on party cohesion. Moving towards a more complete understanding of how women affect political processes, this article addresses the question, does gender affect vote defection from party lines, and if so, under what circumstances? We argue that the actual and perceived risk associated with vote defection in roll-call votes is gendered and that this is constraining the leeway of women to rebel. Analysing roll-call vote data of the German Bundestag (1953–2013) provided by Bergmann et al. (2018), we show that gender exerts a consistent effect only if electoral safety and policy content are considered: it is in feminine policy areas and at high levels of electoral security that women are more likely than men to rebel. This finding implies that taking different incentive structures into account is key if we want to understand gendered legislative behaviour.