Electoral Incentives and ‘Shape-Shifting’ Representation: Representative Claims of Ethnic Minority MPs in Kosovo and Serbia

Abstract

This article explores how members of parliament (MPs) from minority backgrounds in Serbia and Kosovo use institutional incentives to perform as elected minority representatives. In contrast to the previous research that has viewed political agents as simply being acted upon or reactive, this article develops a less deterministic view of the effects of electoral incentives on political agents. It argues for a more dynamic analysis that focuses on the ways in which political actors mobilise institutions for strategic purposes.