Good representation What are the determinants of a good representative? [védés előtt]

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation aims to deepen and refine our understanding of political representation – which refers to the institutionalized relationship between electorates and their representatives – by highlighting the effects of candidate characteristics, representatives’ actions, and personality traits. The theoretical framework incorporates not only the classic theories of representation, such as the work of Pitkin and Mansbridge, but also introduces newer approaches, such as the theories of Celis, Childs, and Saward. The dissertation also builds on the literature of political psychology, voter behavior, and political leadership, aiming to connect these disciplines and thus gain a more comprehensive picture of political representation and voters’ expectations. To answer the research questions, I used a mixed-method approach, including both quantitative and qualitative research tools: a vignette-looking conjoint survey experiment conducted on a representative sample of Hungarian voters, and two focus group discussions. The research questions focus on the desired characteristics, actions, and personality traits of theoretical candidates and representatives. The first group of hypotheses focuses on theoretical candidates’ characteristics and their effects on voter choices. The second group of hypotheses focuses on the actions of theoretical candidates and how voters evaluate them depending on the context. The results of the dissertation confirm that voters strongly prefer local candidates over their non-local counterparts. Voters’ preferences for younger and female candidates are also indicated, which seems to be a change, compared to the contemporary Hungarian political landscape. Regarding the actions of theoretical representatives, the results reveal that Hungarian voters do not prefer experts in the representational process during times of crisis. Instead, they prefer representatives who follow voters’ interests during the decision-making process. The dissertation highlights that political representation is indeed a dynamic process. Furthermore, I found evidence that political representation can be characterized by context-responsive demand, which indicates that voters’ expectations and evaluations of representatives change dynamically according to the situational context. This work contributes to our understanding of political representation models and theories and emphasizes the importance of personal characteristics, actions, personality traits, and contextual factors in voters’ evaluation.