In Canada, the quality of municipal democracy has been questioned due to three crucial factors. First, voter turnout tends to be significantly lower for municipal elections than it is for other levels of government. Second, the re- election rate of incumbent candidates is higher compared to provincial, terri- torial, and federal elections. Third, corruption and other scandals have tarnished the image of local democracy. Are cities sufficiently capable of re- sponding to crises and representing the interests of their residents? Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level addresses these issues through qualitative and quantitative analysis, focusing on some of the most important characteristics of the Canadian municipal scene, including the contexts of partisanship and non-partisanship, the careers and daily work of municipal officials, and multilevel governance. This volume also assists di- rectly in the collection and dissemination of data about cities as there is cur- rently no centralized system for capturing and organizing electoral statistics at the municipal level. Municipal democracy in Canada suffers from a representation deficit. Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level is an important first step in building high-quality comparative information on the politics of Canada’s cities. Sandra Breux is associate professor at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique. Jérôme Couture is a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre Urbanisation Culture Société of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique. In Quebec and Scotland, questions of constitutional change, national identity, and national grievance play an important role in the electoral calculations of political parties and voters. Taking a strong stance on the national question can have strategic benefits both for parties pushing for greater autonomy and for those endorsing the status quo. In this in-depth look at issue voting, authors Éric Bélanger, Richard Nadeau, Ailsa Henderson, and Eve Hepburn examine how the national question affects political parties and voter behaviour in both substate nations. Through party manifestos, interviews with legislators, and opinion survey data, this book demonstrates that calls for constitutional change influence political debate, competition, voter choice, and the outcome of elections not only within Que- bec and Scotland but also across Canada and the United Kingdom. Minority nationalist parties, the authors show, can gain support by claiming ownership of issues with widespread public agreement, such as self-determination and protecting the identity and interests of the nation. A comprehensive analysis of recent electoral politics, The National Question and Electoral Politics in Quebec and Scotland greatly enhances our understanding of the electoral impact of substate nationalism. Éric Bélanger is professor of political science and director of the Quebec Stud- ies Program at McGill University. Richard Nadeau, a Fulbright scholar and former chief advisor to the premier of Quebec, is professor of political science at the Université de Montréal. Ailsa Henderson is professor of political science at the University of Edinburgh and the author of Hierarchies of Belonging: National Identity and Political Culture in Scotland and Quebec. Eve Hepburn is honorary fellow at the Europa Institute at the University of Edinburgh and the managing director of PolicyScribe Ltd. 3 6 M Q U P S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 S P E C I F I C AT I O N S McGill-Queen’s Studies in Urban Governance June 2018 978-0-7735-5329-3 $34.95A CDN, $34.95A US, £28.99 paper 978-0-7735-5328-6 $110.00S CDN, $110.00S US, £91.00 cloth 6 x 9 312pp 27 tables, 21 diagrams, 1 photo eBook available S P E C I F I C AT I O N S Democracy, Diversity, and Citizen Engagement Series June 2018 978-0-7735-5327-9 $34.95A CDN, $34.95A US, £28.99 paper 978-0-7735-5326-2 $110.00S CDN, $110.00S US, £91.00 cloth 6 x 9 288pp 42 tables, 24 diagrams eBook available Accountability and Responsiveness at the Municipal Level Views from Canada edited by sandra breux and jérôme couture Are municipal governments democratic simply because they are elected? P O L I T I C A L S T U D I E S • U R B A N S T U D I E S P O L I T I C A L S T U D I E S • I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S The National Question and Electoral Politics in Quebec and Scotland éric bélanger, richard nadeau, ailsa henderson, and eve hepburn A comprehensive look at the intricacies of issue voting in substate nations.