Political Power in Spain : The Multiple Divides between MPs and Citizens

This book explores why some people become politicians, how they represent citizens in parliaments, and what they think about democracy and its institutions. It analyses the results of the first survey of a representative sample of Spanish MPs (580 cases) and citizens. The study covers areas such as: social profiles; recruitment and selection; women in parliaments; motivation for politics; perception of the representative function and how this is affected by corruption, disaffection and mistrust; national and regional identities; ideology; the functioning of parliamentary groups, and perceptions about the EU. The case of Spain is used to demonstrate how MPs' values, opinions and attitudes conflict and complement with those of the citizens they are supposed to represent. Through a systematic comparison between MPs and citizens, the contributions deal with topics that are key to understanding how democracies work and the role played by MPs. 

Xavier Coller is Professor of Sociology at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain, and director of the research group Democracy and Autonomies: Society and Politics. He has authored over ninety works on social theories, research methods, collective identities, political elites, and complex organizations.

Antonio M. Jaime-Castillo is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Universidad de Málaga, Spain. His research interests include welfare attitudes, inequality, political sociology and quantitative methods of comparative research, and his work has been published in journals such as American Behavioral Scientist, European Sociological Review and Journal of European Social Policy.

Fabiola Mota is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Previously she has taught and researched in several academic and scientific institutions in Spain where she has conducted studies and published on socialcapital, political participation and civil society, territorial politics and devolution.