Workshop on “Citizens’ Views on Representation”

We are seeking paper proposals on the broad theme of how citizens view and understand political representation and how they want to be represented by politicians or other actors. Papers should be clearly focused on finding out how citizens rather than politicians/representatives think, feel, or behave towards representation. They may touch upon – but should not be focused on – other attitudes related to representation, such as attitudes towards voting, political participation, or systems support/legitimacy. We are particularly interested in papers that do any of the following:

• Examine citizens’ views, attitudes, or preferences towards representation, especially less studied dimensions/conceptions of representation (e.g., surrogate representation, justification in representation, unelected representatives);
• Compare citizens’ views, attitudes, or preferences towards different dimensions of representation in one paper;
• Engage with or speak to political theory work on representation (e.g., when conceptualizing citizens’ views or interpreting results);
• Apply unconventional or mixed methods research designs.

Papers can use quantitative and/or qualitative methods and address citizens’ views in Western democracies and/or other regimes. At least a first full draft of the paper must be available by 24 April 2025

Papers can use quantitative and/or qualitative methods and address citizens’ views in Western democracies and/or other regimes. At least a first full draft of the paper must be available by 24 April 2025.

Eligibility: Presenters should currently be enrolled in a PhD program or employed in a postdoctoral position (without tenure).

Funding: One presenter per selected paper will be invited to attend the workshop at the University of Vienna on 8 and 9 May 2025. For Europe-based presenters, 3 nights (7-10 May) will be covered; for all other presenters, up to 4 nights will be covered. Travel costs (economy class flight ticket, train/bus tickets, but no cab/taxi), accommodation and all meals during the workshop days will be covered. Self-funded extensions of stays (e.g. for sightseeing in Vienna) are possible under certain conditions.

Workshop format: The workshop will include presentations and discussions of different papers by scholars at all career stages. Several key experts in the field will provide feedback on the presented papers. The workshop organizers will also present results from their data collection on citizens’ views on representation from 130 qualitative interviews and mass surveys (n = 10,000) in five countries (USA, France, Denmark, Hungary, Netherlands), which were conducted within the MULTIREP project. Moreover, the workshop is aimed at discussing potential avenues for future collaborations between participants and will provide ample opportunities to get to know each other and make new connections.

Application: Presenters should send the following information in a single PDF file to multirep.staatswissenschaft@univie.ac.at by 27 November 2024.

• Title and abstract of the paper (300 words), including names and affiliations of all authors;
• Curriculum vitae;
• Statement of motivation of why you would want to participate in the workshop (half a page);

The e-mail should have the title “Workshop on Citizens’ Views on Representation”.

Successful applicants will be informed by mid-December 2024.