European Representation in EU National Parliaments (Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics)

'This excellent book provides a highly innovative perspective on parliamentary representation in EU politics. Do national MPs' patterns of representation reflect interdependencies in EU politics, where political decisions may have a profound impact beyond the domestic constituency? This is a must-read for anyone interested in representation, legislative studies and democracy in the EU.' -Katrin Auel, Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Studies Vienna, Austria 'Lucy Kinski challenges established notions of representation by analyzing national parliaments as democratic building blocks of the EU. On the basis of close empirical analysis and in a highly readable style, her innovative study shows how EU parliamentarians do not merely promote the interests of their own voters but also creatively engage with concerns beyond their constituency.' -Ben Crum, Professor of Political Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands 'This book will be of great value for anyone interested in parliaments and representation in general, and the EU in particular. It presents a fresh and innovative look at national parliamentary representation in a globalized world, and uncovers patterns of cross-border representation. In filling this gap, it also appeals to those that deal with issues of international politics and global governance.' -Markus Jachtenfuchs, Professor of European and Global Governance, Hertie School, and Director, Jacques Delors Centre, Berlin, Germany 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. Lucy Kinski is Senior Researcher and Lecturer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and Fellow at the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute, Germany Contents 7 Abbreviations 10 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 13 1 Introduction 15 1.1 Purpose of the Book 15 1.2 State of Research 21 1.3 The Representative Puzzle 24 1.4 Outline of the Book 25 References 26 2 Theoretical Framework 32 2.1 The ‘Standard Account’ of Parliamentary Representation and EU Politics 32 2.2 National Parliamentary Representation in the EU: The Concept of This Study 43 2.3 Whom and How to Represent in EU Politics? 59 2.4 Summarizing the Theoretical Approach 71 References 76 3 Data and Methodology 93 3.1 Selection of Countries, Topics, Parliamentary Debates and Interview Partners 93 3.1.1 Comparison Across Countries and Topics 94 3.1.2 Parliamentary Debates and Interview Partners 99 3.2 Data Collection: Representative Claims Analysis and Qualitative Interviews 102 3.2.1 Representative Claims Analysis 103 3.2.2 Qualitative Interviews 107 3.3 Data Evaluation: Regression Analyses and Typology of MPs 110 3.4 Dependent Variables and Data Structure 117 References 121 4 Focus and Style of Representation in EU Politics 128 4.1 The Purpose of This Chapter 128 4.2 Focus of Representation: Whom to Represent in EU Politics? 128 4.3 Style of Representation: How to Represent in EU Politics? 138 4.4 Focus and Style of Representation: Whom and How to Represent in EU Politics? 144 4.5 Conclusions 150 References 151 5 Explaining MPs’ Representative Behavior in EU Politics 152 5.1 The Purpose of This Chapter 152 5.2 Institutional and Party Strategic Factors 155 5.2.1 Left–Right and EU Party Positions 155 5.2.2 Governing Responsibility and European Experience 158 5.2.3 Topic and Position in Claims-Making 161 5.2.4 Committee Membership and Governing Responsibility 163 5.2.5 Catch-All Parties vs. Single-Issue Parties 165 5.3 Operationalization 166 5.3.1 Dependent Variables 166 5.3.2 Independent Variables 167 Regression of Focus of Representation 167 Regression of Style of Representation 167 5.4 Behavioral Representative Focus Explained 170 5.5 Behavioral Representative Style Explained 183 5.6 Conclusions 190 References 197 6 Explaining MPs’ Representative Conception in EU Politics 203 6.1 The Purpose of This Chapter 203 6.2 Conceptual Representative Focus Explained 204 6.2.1 The National Representatives (in a European Context) (N1s and N2s) 205 Explaining Differences I: Other Governments’ Positions—National vs. European Context 205 Explaining Differences II: Tension Between National Responsiveness and European Responsibility 205 Explaining Commonalities I: Consequences on Other EU Citizens 205 Explaining Commonalities II: Focus of Representation in EU Affairs 205 6.2.2 The Europeanized Representatives (E1s Compared to N2) 214 Explaining Commonalities: Other Governments’ Positions and Tension – N2s and E1s 214 Explaining Differences: Consequences on Other EU Citizens and Representative Object—N2s And E1s 214 6.2.3 The European Representative (E2 Compared to E1) 219 6.3 Conceptual Representative Style Explained 223 6.4 Causal Mechanisms Behind Representative Focus and Style 231 6.5 Conclusions 237 References 241 7 Discussion and Conclusion 242 7.1 Cross-Border Representation in an Interdependent World 243 7.2 The Virtue of Europeanized Parliaments 246 7.3 From Transnational Representation to Transnational Democracy 252 References 256 Appendix 261 References 283 Index 312 'This excellent book provides a highly innovative perspective on parliamentary representation in EU politics. Do national MPs' patterns of representation reflect interdependencies in EU politics, where political decisions may have a profound impact beyond the domestic constituency? This is a must-read for anyone interested in representation, legislative studies and democracy in the EU.' -Katrin Auel, Associate Professor, Institute of Advanced Studies Vienna, Austria 'Lucy Kinski challenges established notions of representation by analyzing national parliaments as democratic building blocks of the EU. On the basis of close empirical analysis and in a highly readable style, her innovative study shows how EU parliamentarians do not merely promote the interests of their own voters but also creatively engage with concerns beyond their constituency.' -Ben Crum, Professor of Political Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands 'This book will be of great value for anyone interested in parliaments and representation in general, and the EU in particular. It presents a fresh and innovative look at national parliamentary representation in a globalized world, and uncovers patterns of cross-border representation. In filling this gap, it also appeals to those that deal with issues of international politics and global governance.' -Markus Jachtenfuchs, Professor of European and Global Governance, Hertie School, and Director, Jacques Delors Centre, Berlin, Germany 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. Lucy Kinski is Senior Researcher and Lecturer at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and Fellow at the Düsseldorf Party Research Institute, Germany