Inequality and Representation in Europe

This collection of articles discusses various forms of representation (e.g., descriptive and substantive) as well as their interrelationship; it is concerned with ideological congruence between government or parties and citizens and it also addresses potential effects of unequal representation on various forms of political behaviour (e.g., electoral turnout and signing petitions). Furthermore, the empirical evidence presented here draws on a variety of sources. The authors analyse data collected by national election studies conducted in the Netherlands (Thomassen) and in Switzerland (Kissau, Lutz and Rosset; Ruedin) as well as by various comparative surveys: the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems/CSES (Giger, Rosset and Bernauer), the European Election Study/EES (McEvoy), the European Social Survey/ESS (Lefkofridi and Horvath), the European Value Survey/EVS, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the World Value Survey/WVS (Bu¨hlmann and Scha¨ del). In spite of their diverse approaches and distinct data sources, the conclusion reached by all contributions to this issue is stunningly similar: inequalities in representation are widespread in the European context.