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Argues that descriptive representatives (persons who typify the larger class of the people they stand for) are better able to serve their constituents in situations of communicative distrust or uncrystallized interests. The functions & benefits of descriptive representation are examined. Contexts in which communication between representative & constituents is likely to be undermined by mistrust are described, along with circumstances in which horizontal communication among representatives serves to crystallize legislative issues. It is maintained that there are two forms of descriptive representation: the "microcosmic" form, in which the entire assembly is designed to form a representative sample of the electorate; & the "selective" form, in which institutional design is intended to give selected legislative groups greater descriptive representation in order to bring proportions of those groups closer to their percentages in the population. The costs & benefits of both forms are analyzed. It is concluded that descriptive representation is not always necessary & should be evaluated in terms of whether the benefits exceed the costs. J. Lindroth

Explores awareness of the race of the respondent's state senator. African Americans unaware that their senator is black will receive not symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. Data were gathered by the Florida Survey Research Center in 6 southern state senate districts, of which 3 had black senators. Most blacks (as well as most whites) represented by an African American senator were unaware of that fact. Larger percentages of both groups knew the race of their senator when he or she was white. Respondents who knew their senator's name were more likely also to know the legislator's race. African Americans represented by black senators were significantly less likely to know their legislator's race. (Original abstract - amended)

The debate about the underrepresentation of women in politics rests on two conceptions of political representation, namely the descriptive and the substantive. The descriptive perspective is that political institutions should reflect the composition of civil society, while the substantive (or feminist) conception argues that, since women offer unique perspectives, their exclusion from political power means that their needs, demands, and interests would currently not be echoed in the political arena. However, a causal link is sometimes too easily established between the number of women elected and its consequences for the female population in general. This article defines, within the context of Canadian parliamentarianism, the scope and limits of this equation between descriptive and substantive representation of women. The conclusion reached is that feminist consciousness has a more significant influence than gender on opinions regarding liberal and gender-related issues. It appears the best feminist strategy to descriptively and substantively represent women is to promote women within political parties, and to elect women who are feminists.The names of the Canadian political parties appear in abbreviated form: Bloc Québécois (BQ), Conservative Party of Canada (CPC), Liberal Party of Canada (LPC), New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP), and Reform Party (RP).

Objective. Symbolic benefits are among the results attributed to increased black political participation. This research explores awareness of the race of the respondent's state senator, a precondition of receipt of symbolic benefits by the black community. African Americans unaware that their senator is black will receive no symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. Methods. Data were gathered by the Florida Survey Research Center in six southern state senate districts, of which three had black senators. Results. Most blacks -- as well as most whites -- represented by an African American senator were unaware of that fact. Larger percentages of both groups knew the race of their senator when he or she was white than when black. Respondents who knew their senator's name were more likely to also know the legislator's race. African Americans represented by black senators were significantly less likely to know their legislator's race. Conclusions. Black voters' awareness of the name or race of their black senator is in line with other research into voter knowledge about candidates for other offices. To the extent that having black senators provides symbolic benefits, those benefits may go to a thin strata of the politically active. 2 Tables, 24 References. Adapted from the source document.

A majority of recent studies find that black members of Congress are more supportive of blacks' interests than are white members of Congress, even white Democrats. These results are limited, however, exclusively to the contemporary period, as scholars have not studied how black members of Congress behaved during Reconstruction, the first era of blacks' descriptive representation. Although black representatives from this area are typically portrayed as having been responsive to blacks' interests, some recent studies suggest that they often supported whites' interests on issues important to their black constituents. Employing a measure of racial ideology as well as a measure of general ideology developed by Poole & Rosenthal (1997), we investigate the relationship between descriptive & substantive representation in the US House immediately after the Civil War, through the use of descriptive statistics, OLS regression, & forecasting techniques. We find that black Republicans during Reconstruction were more ideologically liberal on both general & racial issues than their white Republican colleagues in the South. These results suggest that the linkage between descriptive & substantive representation for blacks is not merely a recent phenomenon, but rather, has more general applicability across time. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 63 References. Adapted from the source document.

Objective. Symbolic benefits are among the results attributed to increased black political participation. This research explores awareness of the race of the respondent's state senator, a precondition of receipt of symbolic benefits by the black community. African Americans unaware that their senator is black will receive no symbolic benefits from descriptive representation. Methods. Data were gathered by the Florida Survey Research Center in six southern state senate districts, of which three had black senators. Results. Most blacks—as well as most whites—represented by an African American senator were unaware of that fact. Larger percentages of both groups knew the race of their senator when he or she was white than when black. Respondents who knew their senator's name were more likely to also know the legislator's race. African Americans represented by black senators were significantly less likely to know their legislator's race. Conclusions. Black voters' awareness of the name or race of their black senator is in line with other research into voter knowledge about candidates for other offices. To the extent that having black senators provides symbolic benefits, those benefits may go to a thin strata of the politically active.

Takes a look at the recent Anglo-American literature investigating why & how the structural marginalization of certain social identities in political institutions undercuts democracy. Searching for a theoretically well-grounded argument that can meet the criticism generally addressed to "descriptive representation," this literature wants to clear the way for the representation of specific social identities. Although mechanisms are suggested to enhance representativeness, they rarely plead for mechanisms that would guarantee representation of specific social identities. This analysis of the idea of "guaranteed" legislative representation attempts to clarify what should or could be understood by guarantees of representation. The example of Belgium shows that what is argued for in the Anglo-American literature has already been put into practice for some time. Discussed in conclusion is the possible impact of the Belgian case on the Anglo-American literature. 1 Table, 30 References. Adapted from the source document.

Disadvantaged groups gain advantages from descriptive representation in at least four contexts. In contexts of group mistrust & uncrystallized interests, the better communication & experiential knowledge of descriptive representatives enhances their substantive representation of the group's interests by improving the quality of deliberation. In contexts of historical political subordination & low de facto legitimacy, descriptive representation helps create a social meaning of "ability to rule" & increases the attachment to the polity of members of the group. When the implementation of descriptive representation involves some costs in other values, paying those costs makes most sense in these specific historical contexts. 1 Table, 97 References. Adapted from the source document.

Cameron, Charles; Epstein, David; O'Halloran, Sharyn: Do majority-minority districts maximize substantive black representation in Congress? In: American Political Science Review (Washington/D.C.), 90 (December 1996) 4, S. 794-812

Contrary to Cameron, Epstein, and O'Halloran's article (1996), (1) racial redistricting remains vital to the election of African Americans to the U.S. House, and (2) the tradeoff between black descriptive and substantive representation is actually greater in the South than in the North. Substantive and methodological errors explain why they arrived at their findings. Specifically, their analysis ignores the effect of the presence of Latinos on the election of African Americans. Ironically, due to the very policy assessed in the article, Cameron, Epstein, and O'Halloran's data set does not allow them to examine the link between the racial composition of a district and the ideology of its representative. In addition, they do not consider that racial redistricting not only changes the aggregation of seats into votes but also indirectly boosts the Republican share of votes and seats.

"Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht eine Analyse der Gestaltungsspielräume kollektiv-
institutionalisierter Interessenvertretungen in Kleinbetrieben, die eng an
Großbetriebe angebunden sind. Von zentraler Bedeutung ist dabei die Frage nach
der Wirksamkeit und der Reichweite der Interessenvertretungen im Kfz-Gewerbe. Untersucht
wird, ob und inwieweit zwischenbetrieblich wirksame Momente im institutionellen
Rahmen des deutschen Systems der industriellen Beziehungen eingebracht und
thematisiert werden können. Dabei wird die These vertreten, daß aufgrund der überbetrieblichen
Strukturen, in die die Kfz-Betriebe eingebunden sind, von einer mit den
jeweiligen Regelungsgegenständen variierenden Einflußfähigkeit und Handlungsmacht
der Betriebsräte auszugehen ist." (Autorenreferat)