Representation is among the classical topics of modern political science. Currently it finds a renewed interest which sometimes culminates in diagnosing a “crisis of representation” in the established – and new – democracies. For the German case, the perception of representation by Members of the Bundestag is well known, in particular with respect to their functions fulfilled in parliament. The way how they perceive constituency representation has, however, not been studied in a more systematic way. Various facets have to be taken into account here, for instance policy responsiveness, leadership, advocacy of group interests, orientation towards district and citizen service, etc. The above mentioned aspects are analyzed in a German-French project (“Citizens and Representatives in France and Germany”, CITREP) which accompanies MPs in their districts in both countries for three days each using methods of participant observation and interviews. Our paper will be based on the interviews with 60 MPs of the German Bundestag conducted in 2011 and focus on their perception of representation. It will address whom they refer to as their “principal”, how they balance the listening and the leading part of their activities, how they see their districts etc. Given the frustration with or even alienation from politics that citizens show increasingly, it is crucial for the persistence of democratic government that representation – with regard to actual outcomes as we as the feeling of being represented – is improved. For this, analyzing how those that do the representation work actually see it, will be an important first step.
