Assessing Institutional Determinants of MP Behaviour: Survey Data from the Baltic States

Abstract

To what extent do electoral and legislative institutions affect the behav- iour of parliamentarians in new democracies? This article examines this question on the basis of a wide-ranging survey of MPs in the Baltic states from January 2000. Given substantial differences in the types of institutions existing in the three states, the research tests whether these differences are reflected in MPs' re- sponses to key questions about their relationship to and interaction with (1) par- liamentary work, (2) their party and faction, (3) individual voters, (4) the interests of their district or constituency, and (5) interest groups. The results corroborate a number of existing theoretical postulates, while leaving unconfirmed others. Sociologický casopis/Czech Sociological Review 2005, Vol. 41, No. 3: 461-486 In the consolidating democracies of Central and Eastern Europe it is a truism that one of the central dimensions of this process is the development of a healthy par- liamentary democracy. More specifically, this question concerns the myriad roles parliamentary deputies are expected to fulfil in relation to voters, parties, interest groups, other state institutions, the media, foreign counterparts, etc. In some cases, these roles involve interest mediation, in other cases interest arbitration, and in others oversight and supervision. All of these roles take time to mature, not only on- the part of the MPs, but also in the case of other players. The entire web of relations quickly becomes impossible to grasp all at once. Still, the steady consolidation of democracy in Central and Eastern Europe since the early 1990s has generated clear proof that these relations exist and are to a considerable degree functioning. Al- though actual popular satisfaction with democracy may vary between countries, the minimum requirements of democratic constitutionalism and respect for fundamen- tal liberties continue to be upheld, not least because of the role(s) played by MPs. Existing studies on the role of parliamentarians in the new democracies of Cen-