Citizen's Normative Expectations Regarding the Representrative Role of Councillors

In the literature on political representation (e.g. Pitkin and Judge) we find a variety of normative conceptions of the proper role of political representatives. In empirical research about political representation researchers focus on the role definitions of representatives and their (reported) behavior. What citizens’ consider to be proper standards for the behavior of their elected representatives, however, is an under researched topic. In this paper I will focus on a twofold question: What do citizens to be important (and less important) aspects of the representative role of municipal councilors and how do such orientations affect their evaluation of the actual performance of councilors? This question will be answered on the basis of a recent internet survey amongst a representative sample of 500 Dutch citizens.