Between Whole and Part: Local Territorial Representation in Europe
摘要
This chapter maps and explains the territorial representational focuses of European municipal councillors. It addresses a gap in the literature by focusing specifically on the relative importance ascribed by local elected officials to representing the entire territory of their municipality or a part of it. It uses survey data on European municipal councillors to show that, while most councillors ascribe higher importance to representing their entire municipality, a substantial number claim a more complex, dual representation focus. Then the chapter develops an explanatory model of the councillors’ territorial representation claims and employs multinomial logistical regression analysis to test it. The results suggest a shift towards strategic and career-driven political representation in European local government. However, the type of local government system and party- and council-related variables still significantly shape a representative’s personal strategies/choices.