Individual Representation and Local Party Government : Representative Behavior of Croatian and Slovenian Municipal Councilors

Marko Kukec studies the effect of intra-party coordination on individual behavior of local councilors, which is usually considered to be restrictive of individual behavior of representatives. Drawing on the potential of individual activities to serve as vote-seeking devices, this book offers a contrasting perspective implying that party leaders have good reasons to rather stimulate such activities. Based on surveys of Croatian and Slovenian local councilors it finds that the effect varies across different activities and institutional contexts. This study contributes to deeper understanding of the partisan aspect of local representative democracy.

Dr. Marko Kukec is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Political Science at the Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg. His research interests include political elites, legislative politics and territorial politics, both in a comparative perspective and with a focus on Croatia.