Policy representation in Western democracies

Abstract

1. Introduction: Elite-Mass Linkage in Representative Democracy 2. Mass-Elite Issue Linkages and the Responsible Party Model of Representation 3. Political Communication between Political Elites and Mass Publics: The Role of Belief Systems 4. The Language of Politics: A Study of Elite and Mass Understandings of Ideological Terminology in the United States and the Netherlands 5. Collective Policy Congruence Compared 6. Not all Politics is Local: The Geographical Dimension of Policy Representation 7. System Characteristics Matter: Empirical Evidence from Ten Representation Studies Conclusion: Mixed Signals