European Representation in EU National Parliaments

This book provides an original argument that rejects the idea of national MPs having but one 'standard' mode of representation. It acknowledges the national electoral connection, but considers representation beyond national borders. The author empirically investigates such patterns of representation in MPs' parliamentary speech-making behavior and their attitudes in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the UK. The book analyzes representative claims in parliamentary debates on the Constitutional Treaty, the Lisbon Treaty and the Eurozone crisis, and relies on qualitative interviews with members of the European affairs and budget committees. It finds a Eurosceptic Europeanization in that national MPs from the Eurosceptic left particularly represent other EU citizens.

Takes a comparative look at the actual practice of representation in the parliaments of Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom Claims that an MP's choice of representation in EU politics is both agent- and principal-driven Offers a distinct theoretical, empirical and normative contribution to comparative politics and EU research

Autorentext

Lucy Kinski is Senior Researcher and Lecturer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and Fellow at the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute, Germany.

Zusammenfassung

"Kinski's book is a timely and important contribution not only to our understanding of European integration and politics but also to our understanding of the theory and practice of parliamentary representation in Europe." (Christoph Konrath, International Journal of Parliamentary Studies, Vol. 2 (1), 2022)

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework.- Chapter 3: Data and Methodology.- Chapter 4: Focus and Style of Representation in EU Politics: A Descriptive Analysis.- Chapter 5: Explaining MPs' Representative Behavior in EU Politics.- Chapter 6: Explaining MPs' Representative Conception in EU Politics.- Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusion.