The awareness paradox

Ondertitel:(why) politicians overestimate citizens' awareness of parliamentary questions and party initiatives

If politicians believe they will be rewarded for responsive behaviour at the ballot and punished for the opposite, they are disciplined to follow-up on the public’s desires. That the treat of electoral accountability prompts re-election minded politicians to act in line with the public’s wishes, vitally hinges on the assumption that politicians feel monitored in the first place. To tunderstand how this precondition for anticipatory representation works in reality, this article examines politicians’ perceptions of voters awareness of party initiatives and parliamentary questions. Quantitative and qualitative survey evidence collected among Belgian Members of Parliament (N = 164) shows that politicians consider citizens as rather uninformed about politics but, paradoxically, believe that some of them are aware of specific party initiatives and oral questions. Evidence on citizens’ actual knowledge shows that politicians strongly overestimate voter awareness. Why is that? From their reflections, we learn that MPs overgeneralise feedback they receive from engaged citizens, leaving them with a biased image of how aware voters actually are. Also, the exceptionally of gaining visibility with their work causes politicians to overestimate the scope of awareness when they are covered in the media, receive reactions on their social media accounts or simply work on salient topics.

Jaar van publicatie:2020

Trefwoorden:A1 Journal article

Toegankelijkheid:Open