Electoral Accountability and Substantive Representation of National Minorities: The Case of Serbia

This article examines under what conditions descriptive representatives of national minorities can also act as substantive representatives. It provides an empirical analysis of the behaviour of the representatives with ethnic minority backgrounds in the eighth National Assembly of the Republic of Se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:East European politics and societies 2016-11, Vol.30 (4), p.703-724
Main Author: Lončar, Jelena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electoral systems
Ethnic Minorities Studies
Politics and Identity
Sociology of Politics
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This article examines under what conditions descriptive representatives of national minorities can also act as substantive representatives. It provides an empirical analysis of the behaviour of the representatives with ethnic minority backgrounds in the eighth National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia. Specifically, the article builds upon a content analysis of all interventions in the plenary parliamentary debates of the thirtyone minority MPs in the period between June 2008 and March 2012. The analysis suggests that having a minority ethnic background or political party registered as a political party of national minority are not sufficient conditions for substantive minority representation. The findings show that minority representatives elected on minority electoral lists engage more in substantive representation of minorities than descriptive representatives elected to parliament either as members of mainstream parties or through pre-electoral arrangements of minority parties with mainstream political parties.
ISSN:0888-3254
1533-8371
DOI:10.1177/0888325416650252