📄 Paper Presentation – The Representative Disconnect: Responsiveness and Citizen Engagement | Thessaloniki, Greece | August 28, 2025 🇬🇷

At the ECPR General Conference 2025, hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Federico Russo, Evelyn de Simone, Terri Mannarini, and Stefano Pagliaro (University of Salento) presented their paper:

“The Representative Disconnect: Investigating the Interplay Between Political Responsiveness and Citizen Engagement.”

🔎 About the Study:

This research examines how citizens’ perceptions of political representatives’ receptiveness and power shape democratic engagement. The study draws on a 2×2 experimental design with 2,000 participants from Italy, Norway, Poland, and the UK, focusing on scenarios related to local crime issues.

📌 Key Findings:

  • Receptiveness significantly boosts institutional trust and participation

  • Power increases trust but does not enhance participation

  • Emotional dynamics matter: low power generates negativity, while high receptiveness fosters positive emotions

  • Mediation analyses show that receptiveness drives engagement through both trust and affective pathways

⚖️ Overall, results highlight the primacy of responsiveness over capacity in shaping political behaviour—though with context-specific limitations.

📍 Location: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

📅 Date: August 28, 2025

🤝 Partner: University of Salento (UNISALENTO)

#Responsiveness #PoliticalParticipation #InstitutionalTrust #Emotions #RepresentativeDisconnect