Two Pathways to Substantive Representation? Minority Membership and Norms

Minorities still face discrimination and underrepresentation, but when are their interests considered in parliamentary politics? The pathway of descriptive representation leading to substantive representation is well studied. However, little research exists on equivalent pathways. Especially invisible minorities, which are marginalised groups characterised by the possibility of hidden and non-outed group membership, have to rely strongly on substantive representation by non-members. But why do non-minority parliamentarians act in favour of invisible minorities? And why do parliaments pass bills only under specific circumstances? The comparison of a successful case (Germany) and an unsuccessful case (Austria) on the parliamentary legalisation of same-sex marriage provides answers to these research questions. The focus lies on the mechanisms of descriptive representation and norms (foremost political ideology). The analysis aims at detecting these mechanisms as well as their relationship in different contexts in order to explain why and when parliamentarians substantively represent the interests of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGBs). I test hypotheses on the mechanism of descriptive representation and build hypotheses on the mechanism of norms. The Austrian Nationalrat is a typical case for parliaments with a below-average amount of known LGB MPs and an on average more authoritarian/traditionalist ideology. The German Bundestag represents a typical case for a parliament with a comparatively high number of LGB MPs and a rather libertarian/post-materialist ideology (most European parliamentary democracies belong to one of these two categories). The basis for the process tracing are documents of the legislative process (e.g., committee and plenary minutes as well as legislative proposals) and interviews conducted with parliamentarians that were involved. I conclude by reflecting on how the insights of this study can be applied to other minorities – invisible as well as visible ones.