Tenure, turnover and careers in the European Parliament: MEPs as policy-seekers

Whitaker, Richard

doi:10.1080/13501763.2014.926963

Cited by 36 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…These findings indicate that the EP may serve, on the one hand, as an individual career path to which politicians aspire. Once candidates have managed to secure a seat, they tend to hold on to it, confirming findings from other studies that point to the rise of ‘European careerists’ and the emergence of a supranational political elite (see, e.g., Whitaker ). On the other hand, the fact that the second most likely pathway to the EP, for both men and women, is through national‐level elected office may suggest that the EP is becoming less of a second‐order office than traditionally perceived, raising questions as to whether progress on women's representation at the European level will continue as the EP becomes a more desirable option for a political career.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

“…The EU has changed dramatically in recent years, both in scale and in scope, while successive EU treaty amendments have increased the power of the EP. There is, then, arguably much more at stake now in EP elections – both for voters and for political parties – which may make the process of becoming an MEP more competitive (Fortin‐Rittberger & Rittberger ; Whitaker ). Thus, given that the proportion of women MEPs has increased at the same time that the EP has gained more authority, the argument that ‘where there is power, there are no women’ does not seem to hold in this case.…”

Section: Women's Representation In the European Parliamentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pathways to power: Women's representation in the 2014 European Parliament elections

Lühiste

Kenny

2016

European Journal of Political Research

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The 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections produced a record proportion of women MEPs overall (37 per cent). Yet, these results vary widely across countries and parties. This article aims to explain these variations, evaluating not only who the elected representatives of the 8th EP are, but also how they got there. Are the paths to the EP the same for women and men? Are there gender differences in terms of MEPs’ political experience? A unique dataset listing more than 700 elected MEPs and their background, party and country characteristics is used to empirically examine who makes it to the EP and through which route. The results of the analysis suggest no significant gender differences in the pathways to the EP. Yet, parties matter: more women were elected to the 8th EP from left‐wing than from right‐wing or ‘new’ parties, and both men and (especially) women representing right‐wing parties tend to be politically more experienced than their fellow MEPs from other types of parties. Furthermore, it is found that men are more likely than women to be promoted straight from party office to the EP, suggesting that some pathways to the EP are less open to women than others.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Women's Representation In the European Parliamentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways to power: Women's representation in the 2014 European Parliament elections

Lühiste

Kenny

2016

European Journal of Political Research

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“…To determine the extent to which MEPs and MNPs utilize Twitter in distinctive ways, we take advantage of the EU's multilevel nature. While political scientists have made progress in tracking MEPs' careers (Arter, 2015;Borchert & Stolz, 2011;Daniel, 2015;Scarrow, 1997;Stolz, 2003;Whitaker, 2014), the field still lacks a comprehensive longitudinal career database. Recent contributions suggest that national trends vary but that, overall, the degree of movement from one territorial level to another may be decreasing over time (Borchert & Stolz, 2011;Whitaker, 2014).…”

Section: Study Design Data and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Institutional Setting Affect Legislators’ Use of Twitter?

Scherpereel¹,

Wohlgemuth²,

Lievens³

2017

Policy & Internet

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This study investigates whether members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and members of national parliaments (MNPs) use social media in distinctive ways. Specifically, it examines whether institutional differences affect the frequency, quality, and nature of legislators’ Twitter communications. Controlling for factors that previous studies find significant, we select for two kinds of legislators: (i) MEPs who are serving in the 2014–19 term and who served as MNPs immediately before their election to the EP and (ii) MEPs who served in the 2009–14 term and have subsequently become MNPs. We compare selected legislators’ tweets over a three‐month period during their EP tenures with their Twitter behaviors over an analogous period during their NP tenures. The statistical results demonstrate few significant differences between MEPs and MNPs. A preliminary qualitative probe suggests that legislators’ tweet patterns may owe less to the institution they serve and more to their policy responsibilities and leadership positions within particular institutions.

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“…As the EP's power has grown, MEPs have increasingly viewed it as a venue for career advancement (Whitaker, ). Between 1994 and 2014, the percent of MEPs seeking reelection to the EP rose from 49% to 59%.…”

Section: Domestic Party Systems and European Party Votingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The power of European parties over an MEP's European career renders MEPs with supranational career aspirations more likely to vote with their European party (Meserve, Pemstein, & Bernhard, 2009). As the EP's power has grown, MEPs have increasingly viewed it as a venue for career advancement (Whitaker, 2014). Between 1994 and 2014, the percent of MEPs seeking reelection to the EP rose from 49% to 59%.…”

Section: Low Institutionalization Party Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

It is all about value: How domestic party brands influence voting patterns in the European Parliament

Meyerrose

2017

Governance

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Research on the European Parliament finds legislative voting patterns remained constant following the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. This article shows that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from these new member states are actually more likely to vote along European party lines. Given that these MEPs often come from less institutionalized domestic party systems that lack norms of legislative discipline, we should expect them to exhibit more erratic voting behavior than MEPs from mature systems. Why would stronger party discipline at the European level be associated with more volatile and fragmented domestic party systems? This article argues MEPs from less institutionalized systems rely more on the brand of their European party, which provides better information and career opportunities than their parties at home, and thus are more likely to vote along European party lines. I find support for this theory using data from the sixth European Parliament (2004–2009).

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Tenure, turnover and careers in the European Parliament: MEPs as policy-seekers

Cited by 36 publications

References 31 publications

Pathways to power: Women's representation in the 2014 European Parliament elections

Pathways to power: Women's representation in the 2014 European Parliament elections

Does Institutional Setting Affect Legislators’ Use of Twitter?

It is all about value: How domestic party brands influence voting patterns in the European Parliament

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