Political Parties and Political Representation

Abstract

Political representation in most Western democracies occurs through and by political parties. Based on parallel surveys of voters and party elites in nine West European nations, this article examines how well parties perform their representation role. The opinions of voters and party elites are compared for 40 party dyads. In some cases there is close correspondence between these opinions (e.g., economic and security issues), but in other instances the evidence of voter-party agreement is substantially weaker (e.g., foreign policy). An examination of party characteristics and contextual factors suggests that the clarity of party positions, represented by a centralized party structure and noncentrist ideology, strongly influences the efficiency of the party linkage process.