Do elections (still) matter? mandates, institutions, and policies in Western Europe Grossman, Emiliano creator author. Guinaudeau, Isabelle author. text Electronic books. enk 2021 monographic eng remote 1 online resource (xi, 199 pages) : illustrations. This volume examines the question of whether election campaigns are relevant to policymaking, shedding new light through a study of electoral priorities and the extent to which they are reclected in public policy. This book sheds new light on this central democratic concern based on an ambitious study of democratic mandates through the lens of agenda-setting in five West European countries since the 1980s. The authors develop and test a new model bridging studies of party competition, pledge fulfilment, and policymaking. The core argument is that electoral priorities are a major factor shaping policy agendas, but mandates should not be mistaken as partisan. Parties are like 'snakes in tunnels': they have distinctive priorities but they need to respond to emerging problems and their competitors' priorities, resulting in considerable cross-partisan overlap. The 'tunnel of attention' remains constraining in the policymaking arena, especially when opposition parties have resources to press governing parties to act on the campaign priorities. This key aspect of mandate responsiveness has been neglected so far because in traditional models of mandate representation, party platforms are conceived as a set of distinctive priorities, whose agenda-setting impact ultimately depends on the institutional capacity of the parties in office. Rather differently, this book suggests that counter-majoritarian institutions and windows for opposition parties generate key incentives to stick to the mandate. It shows that these findings hold across five very different democracies: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. The results contribute to a renewal of mandate theories of representation and lead to question the idea underlying much of the comparative politics literature that majoritarian systems are more responsive than consensual ones. Emiliano Grossman and Isabelle Guinaudeau. Includes bibliographical references and index. ew----- Elections Europe, Western Political parties Europe, Western Policy sciences Europe, Western Europe, Western Politics and government 21st century Élections Europe de l'Ouest Sciences de la politique Europe de l'Ouest Europe de l'Ouest Politique et gouvernement 21e siècle Campaigns & Elections Political Process POLITICAL SCIENCE Political Parties Public Affairs & Administration Politics and government Political parties Policy sciences Elections Western Europe 2000-2099 fast JF1001 .G76 2022 324.6 Do elections (still) matter? Grossman, Emiliano. Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] (DLC) 2021937201 (OCoLC)1295618363 9780192662941 0192662945 9780192847218 9780191939624 0191939625 019284721X http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=https://academic.oup.com/book/39051 EBLCP 211204 20260318163519.4 in00005696242 eng