Representative Democracy: Legislators and their Constituents

About the Book

Although we tend to use the terms "representative democracy" and "democracy" as synonyms, Michael Mezey maintains that they are not. Democracy means that the people govern; representative democracy means that the people elect others to govern for them. This raises the question of the extent to which representative government approximates democracy-a question that turns on the relationship between representatives and those whom they represent.

Mezey reviews the literature on the meaning of representation and its relationship to issues of citizen control. In the empirical sections that follow, he draws on data from the United States Congress and from legislatures outside the United States to discuss the extent to which the composition of a legislature reflects the demography of its nation. The author also examines a legislature's various political and economic interests and the extent to which representatives are responsive to specific requests for assistance from their constituents and to constituent opinions on public policy questions. He further looks at the effect that interest groups, political parties, and election systems have on the relationship between representatives and their constituents. Finally, Mezey addresses the criticisms that have been leveled against representative institutions: that they are slow to act, inefficient and uninformed when they do act, that they are too inclined to do what is popular rather than what is necessary and, conversely, that their members are too removed from the opinions of their constituents and therefore unfaithful to their democratic obligation to respond to the wishes of those whom they represent.

Rich in thoughtful analysis, Representative Democracy incorporates normative, empirical and comparative perspectives on representation. It is perfectly suited for use in an upper-level course on the legislative process or Congress.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Representation and Democracy
Chapter 2 Representation: A Theoretical Discussion
Chapter 3 Constituencies and Interests
Chapter 4 Earmarks and Errands
Chapter 5 Representation and Public Policy
Chapter 6 Interest Groups and Representation
Chapter 7 Representative Government and its Critics
Chapter 8 Appendix: 30 Questions for Discussion

About the Author :
Michael L. Mezey is Professor of political science at DePaul University in Chicago.

Review :
Mezey has produced a broadly-informed study that speaks to all interested in representative democracy. Furthermore, it is an accessible and appropriate text for teaching undergraduates, especially for courses on Congress, comparative legislatures, or democratic governance. Mezey displays his treasure of scholarly talents in this concise yet inclusive book on representation. He gives order and meaning to a wide array of existing empirical and normative literature on the concept of representation across a range of representative institutions, blending an emphasis on the U.S. Congress with findings from non-American legislatures that make the reader keenly sensitive to contextual variation. Michael Mezey has written a comprehensive analysis of the complex relationship between constituents and legislators in the United States, and in comparative perspective. It is based on his astonishing command of the relevant literature. Far more than a textbook, it makes a valuable contribution to all scholars in this field by offering an overview that integrates and organizes the accumulated findings of three decades of legislative research. Mezey has written a well-documented and clearly laid out book. A]n appropriate text for upper-division undergraduate or survey graduate courses that examine legislative politics and/or political representation... [I]t draws together key components of representation in a valuable manner.... I can think of no one more qualified than Mezey to write a synthetic treatment of representative institutions since he combines a theoretician's reflectiveness with an empiricist's analytical acumen; a comparativist's breadth of perspective with a Congress scholar's utilization of an impressively wide range of data. The chapter on "Earmarks and Errands" alone is worth the purchase price.

Mezey has written a well-documented and clearly laid out book.
A]n appropriate text for upper-division undergraduate or survey graduate courses that examine legislative politics and/or political representation... [I]t draws together key components of representation in a valuable manner.