Abstract
Relying on the theory of Saward <a href="https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?cbB5hi">(2010)</a> and Disch <a href="https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?qzXWLX">(2015)</a>, we study political representation through the lens of representative claim-making. We identify a gap between the theoretical concept of claim-making and the empirical (quantitative) assessment of representative claims made in the real world’s representative contexts. Therefore, we develop a new approach to map and quantify representative claims in order to subsequently measure the reception and validation of the claims by the audience. To test our method, we analyse all the debates of the German parliament concerned with the introduction of the gender quota in German supervisory boards from 2013 to 2017 in a two-step process. At first, we assess which constituencies the MPs claim to represent and how they justify their stance. Drawing on multiple correspondence analysis, we identify different claim patterns. Second, making use of natural language processing techniques and logistic regression on social media data, we measure if and how the asserted claims in the parliamentary debates are received and validated by the respective audience. We come to the conclusion that the constituency as ultimate judge of legitimacy has not been comprehensively conceptualized yet.
Highlights
In the political will-formation processes, increasingly complex constellations of actors exist
The results of the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) suggest to restrict the analysis to the description of the first three dimensions, which express 71.2% of the explained variance (JCA corrected principal inertia/”R2”; c.f., Greenacre, 2017, p. 146)
The representative claims made in the parliament can be mainly structured along those lines: claims made in favour of the quota claim to represent women and equality, use justifications j7, j8, j9, j10 and j11 and are constructed with the claim-type claim of representation
Summary
In the political will-formation processes, increasingly complex constellations of actors exist. Due to the increasing passiveness of voters, reflected by decreasing voter turnout, the loss of faith in political institutions, a decline of party loyalty and growing political power of non-governmental organizations, tensions concerning who has the democratic right to represent the people emerged (Näsström, 2011; van Biezen, Mair, & Poguntke, 2012). The elected political elite and self-appointed actors feel entitled to make representative claims and voice political interests. The inclusion of these new voices might provide novel avenues in the production of legitimacy within democratic systems (Mair, 2009; van Biezen, 2014; Young, 2002). How democratic accountability and legitimacy are operationalised in these decentralized arrangements, made up of a broad variety of representative claims and claim-makers, becomes crucial in order to assess and attain democratic legiti-
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