Publications
Measuring the Substantive Representation of Women Cross-Nationally: Towards a Composite Index Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Recent scholarship on women’s substantive representation has expanded from its initial focus on gender inequalities in parliaments and now studies (1) various group interests, (2) in different venues, (3) across different contexts and (4) using different methods and approaches. Building on these advances, we present a new comparative measure of women’s substantive representation. This ‘Substantive Representation Index’ combines eight indicators, ...
Speaking for the Voiceless? Representative Claims-Making on Behalf of Future Generations in Belgium Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Given that modern democracies face generation-transcending policy challenges, this study asks whether the interests of future generations are sufficiently taken into account in present-day parliamentary politics. Through analysis of parliamentary documents in Belgium (2010–2019), we examine whether present-day MPs make representative claims on behalf of future generations, how such claims are made and by whom. We find that MPs do formulate ...
Utilitarische waarheden: hoeveel desinformatie en wantrouwen kan een democratie tolereren? Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Changing the subject Vrije Universiteit Brussel University of Antwerp KU Leuven
Election debates are key campaign events that allow citizens to compare politicians' issue positions side-by-side. While debate moderators try to keep candidates on-topic to contrast issue positions, candidates can try to shift the debate to off-topic issues instead. Election debates thus provide a unique setting to study candidates' issue emphasis. In this context, we study: who veers off-topic, on which issues, and when? Our theory-driven ...
Review: Searching for a Democratic Equalizer: How Citizenship Education Moderates Inequalities in Internal Political Efficacy (PhD by Joke Matthieu) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The field of gender and substantive representation: re-conceptualising, measurement and implications Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The substantive representation of social groups: towards a new comparative research agenda Vrije Universiteit Brussel
This article maps the field of substantive representation of social groups and carves out a new research agenda. Examining a database of 313 publications, we identify patterns in what is studied in the field and how it is studied. Our findings suggest that while scholarship on the substantive representation of social groups has expanded over the years, many studies still predominantly (1) analyse the representation of women in (2) the ...
25 years of gender quotas and still a man’s world. What’s wrong with their implementation in the Belgian case? Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Substantive Representation of Disadvantaged Groups – Taking Stock and Moving Forward Vrije Universiteit Brussel
This symposium takes stock of current developments in the field of substantive representation of disadvantaged social groups. It revisits traditional presence-based approaches to substantive representation and suggests new and innovative avenues for the study of substantive representation across groups, venues and contexts. Together, the five contributions discuss new conceptualizations and measurements of substantive representation, as well ...