Urban Political Leadership and Political Representation: The Multifaceted Representational Role of Danish Mayors

The concepts of political leadership and political representation are applied to urban politics, and based on a case study of four mayors in Denmark, four mayoral representational functions are identified: “representative,” “master of ceremonies,” “local secretary of state,” and “ombudsman.” The fou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban affairs review (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) Calif.), 2015-07, Vol.51 (4), p.563-577
Main Author: Kjaer, Ulrik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Councillors
Denmark
Mayors
Political behavior
Political leadership
Political representation
Political science
Politics
Urban areas
Urban government
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Summary:The concepts of political leadership and political representation are applied to urban politics, and based on a case study of four mayors in Denmark, four mayoral representational functions are identified: “representative,” “master of ceremonies,” “local secretary of state,” and “ombudsman.” The four functions separate the mayor from the councillors who act only as representatives. With regard to representational focus (who is represented), the case study demonstrates that mayors have a much broader focus than councillors. The different functions and focuses of mayors and councillors are combined into two ideal types of representation, “leader style” and “legislator style.”
ISSN:1078-0874
1552-8332
DOI:10.1177/1078087414537610