Parties abroad and migrants' representation in the country of origin

Abstract

Some of the reasons for which political parties develop organizations abroad are to represent the emigrants, to mobilize them electorally and to provide support. So far, we know very little about how migrants think about and interpret these actions. To address this gap in the literature, our article aims to explain what drives migrants' perceptions that party organizations abroad represent their interests in their country of origin. We use individual-level data from an online survey conducted during the summer of 2022 among 1058 Romanian migrants. We find that the perceptions about parties as avenues of representation are a function of both the supply and the demand side. Political parties that are active and instill trust, people's interest in politics and perceived discrimination have strong effects.