What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know about Mass-Elite Linkages in the Czech Republic?

This paper reviews the literature on democratic quality in the Czech Republic where quality is conceptualized as the strength of links between citizens and governments. The review reveals both positive and negative signs. Some linkages – particularly electoral accountability – work reasonably well, while others – especially mandate responsiveness – do not. In some areas, like policy responsiveness, our knowledge is relatively meagre. Surprisingly, time trends are also diverse, with improvement in some areas but decline in others. Given that much of our knowledge of linkages is fragmentary, the paper thus suggests a number of areas where scholars should conduct additional research.