The Political Career Paths of Spanish MEPs (1986-2010)

Autor principal:
Francisco Javier Alarcón González (Universidad de Granada)
Programa:
Sesión 1
Día: jueves, 19 de septiembre de 2013
Hora: 11:45 a 14:15
Lugar: E11SEM02

Previous research about political elites pointed out several interpretations about the passage and term of politicians for European Parliament in order to know the significance of this stage in their political career. In studying the image of elected member in public offices, scholars usually adopted a static approach. In this paper, I intend to go beyond, adopting a dynamic perspective of studies of political career, and using a complete dataset of political career of Spanish MEPs between 1986 and 2010. Through sequence analysis techniques, I will unravel the career patterns existing behind individual political careers at three different stages: before becoming MEP, during the stay in this office – that is, the internal career within the European Parliament – and after leaving the chamber. From the analysis of the relationships between these three career-moments, I intend to answer a number of questions: is there any relationship between them? Do previous career patterns determine later ones? And, ultimately, what does means to be a MEP in a politician’s career? 

Palabras clave: Members of European Parliament; Political Career ; Sequence Analysis Techniques