Substantive Representation of Sub-State Territories in Central Legislatures: Towards a Framework for Analysis

While there is a large literature on substantive representation of women and ethnic minorities, the study of substantive representation of other groups is less well advanced. One, often marginalised, group that has been overlooked in representation studies is citizens of sub-state territorial units, including those located at the geographical periphery. This is despite the re-emergence of territory as a key political cleavage over the past few decades across many democracies, notably including Belgium, the UK and Spain. A key manifestation of this trend, documented by specialists in parties and elections, has been the increased tendency for parties and individual candidates to pledge at elections that they will act on behalf of sub-state territories such as nations and regions. There has, however, so far been a surprising lack of research about how, once elected, these parliamentarians actually go about substantively representing such sub-state territories. Little is known about the extent to which this sort of activity takes place either in individual cases or comparatively, the different forms it can take or its implications for public policy. This paper presents an innovative analytical framework that seeks to facilitate research that can fill this gap. First, it considers how substantive sub-state territorial representation should be defined. Second, it outlines a typology of four forms that substantive representation of territorial representation may take in practice - of material interests, public opinion, culture/identity and sub-state political institutions, that it is intended can be operationalised for empirical research. Finally, it considers under what socio-cultural, institutional and political conditions these forms of sub-state territorial representation are more and less likely to occur. The paper builds on an earlier draft presented at the 2019 ECPR Standing Group on Parliaments Summer School, which was awarded the Kaare Strøm Prize for the best paper presented at the summer school.