A parlamenti képviselők választókerület-központúsága pártcentrikus választási rendszerekben Magyarország példáján = Legislators' constituency orientation under party-centred electoral rules

Kivonat, rövid leírás

This work aims to contribute to our knowledge about the circumstances under which personal representation prevails. The main question is whether constituency orientation appears in a country where electoral rules encourage party representation. Previous research has established that electoral systems and member personalization are closely connected: candidate-centred electoral rules enhance personal-, while party-centred systems support party representation. In this sense, representation is perceived on a one-dimensional scale where personal and party representations indicate the two ends of the continuum. However, due to the party-centeredness of the system, the decisions are presumed to come from the party rather than being the result of individual discretion. In this view, party and personal representations are not mutually exclusive, but personal representation might be considered a form of party representation. In party-centred mixed member systems, the existence of the nominal tier leads parties to pursue rather person-oriented party strategies. Thus, the oft-cited causal effect between mixed electoral rules and personalization can be confirmed. However, to unravel the causal mechanism, we have to perceive the link between electoral rules and personal representation as being mediated by central party strategies. In the quest to test the above hypothesis I collect evidence from a case study on Hungary. Hungary serves as a least likely case, where member personalization is not likely to appear. The dissertation follows the neo-institutionalist approach, and establishes the link between electoral rules, member attitudes and behaviour in contemporary Hungary. It recognizes that even under party-centred electoral rules, there are serious motivations to pursue particularistic goals. These motivations can be proxied by different sets of career factors that relate to the past experience as well as the currently held positions of the legislators. The nature of the independent variables will point to three different types of motivations: (i) electoral, (ii) position-related, and (iii) habitual explanations. Personal representation is perceived from three angles. First, both focus and style of representation as the two aspects of members’ roles perceptions are investigated. Second, individual legislators’ personalized campaign strategies are explained by the pre-selected independent variables. Third, parliamentary questioning proxies constituency service carried out by members in representing the interests of their electoral districts. MP-survey data from 2010 is used to measure attitudes and campaign behaviour, while questioning data covers roughly half of the 2010-2014 electoral term, 2.5 years.