Political
Representation
Yeongran Kim
,07.09.2022 Lecture 1
Political representation
- Representare: ‘a delegated action on behalf on someone else’ (Urbinati, 2011)
- The ‘people’ are sovereign, but …
- In representative democracy, authority and legitimacy that relies on consent,
rather than direct presence
- Representation occurs through political parties mandated through elections
Components of political representation
- Dovi identifies five components relevant for the study of representation
1) Some party that is representing (the representative, an organization,
movement, state agency)
2) Some party that is being represented (the constituents, the clients, etc)
3) Something that is being represented (opinions, perspectives, interests,
discourses, etc)
4) A setting within which the activity of representation is taking place
5) Something that is being left out (the opinions, interests, etc)
Political linkage: the chain of representation
- The chain of representation
Citizens’ preferences -> political parties -> parliaments -> governments -> politics
Delegate vs. Trustee representation
- “Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile
interests; which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against
other agent and advocates; but parliament is a deliberative assembly of one
nation, with one interest, that of the whole; where, not local purpose, not local
prejudices, ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general
reason of the whole” (Edmund Burke, 1774)
- Are representative delegates or trustee?
- As delegates: MPs enact the will of citizens in parliament
Maybe this is more democratic
- As trustee: MPs are authorized to follow their own judgment and to deliberate
Maybe this is more efficient
- Which form of representation do you think is better? Both are relevant
- What is Thomassen’s view on mandate representation?
1) Not applicable to modern representative democracy
2) Party discipline is a problem for the delegate view
3) Delegate model does not fit representatives’ role conceptions
The political parties model
1) Parties present policy alternatives to voters
2) Party discipline should be sufficient
3) Voters vote rationally: voters must know their preferences and the policy
differences between parties – quite challenge
, The political parties model: who is the weakest link?
- How is this model evaluated?
1) Do voters know their preferences (despite cognitive mobilization)?
2) Do parties know their preferences of parties? What about multi-
dimensionality? (Economic, religion, regional, etc. issues)
3) Do parties present relevant alternatives?
- Thomassen: both the mandate and parties model are ‘populists’, as the goal of
representation is for parties to mirror the will of the people
Hanna Pitkin and the concept of representation
1) Formalistic representation (i.e., Electoral representation)
What are the institutional arrangements for authorization and accountability?
2) Substantive representation
Do representatives represent the policy preferences of the represented
accurately?
3) Descriptive representation
Do representatives resemble the gender, ethnic, demographic, or socio-
economic characteristics of the represented?
4) Symbolic representation
How does the representative stand for a group/nation as a symbol?
Quality of representation
- The quality of representation is not always given
1) Are all citizens equally well represented?
2) Are citizens with lower incomes represented just as well as richer ones?
3) What about the access of immigrants to political office?
4) Does the underrepresentation of women matter for political substance?
Non-electoral forms of representation
- Representation can occur through different channels
e.g., Farmer protests in 2022 in the Netherlands, Trade unions and
representation, Informal representation
Indirect and non-electoral forms of representation
- Protests and activists can be important as forms of representation
- Representation beyond the nation (i.e., in the EU)
- Representation as claim-making (Michael Saward’s Constructivist perspective)
, Summaries of the articles for Week 1
Dovi
Political representation
Formalistic representation.
- Description: institutional arrangements preceding and initiating representation.
Two dimensions: authorisation, accountability.
- Main question: what is the institutional position of a representative?
- Implicit standards for evaluating representatives: none.
Symbolic representation.
- Brief description: the meaning a representative has for those being represented.
- Main question: what kind of response is invoked by the representative in those
being represented?
- Implicit standards for evaluating representatives: they are assessed by the
degree of acceptance the representative has amongst the represented.
Descriptive representation.
- Description: the extent to which a representative resembles those being
represented.
- Main question: does the representative share looks, interests or experience with
the represented?
- Implicit standards for evaluating representatives: assessment by accuracy of
resemblance.
Substantive representation.
- Description: the representatives’ actions.
- Main question: does the representative advance the policy preferences that
serve the interests of the represented?
- Implicit standards for evaluating representatives: assessment by the extent to
which there is congruence between policy outcomes and the best interests of
constituents.
Thomassen
Empirical Research into Political Representation: Failing Democracy or Failing Models?
Introduction
- Organising principle in most studies on this topic is political linkage.
- Models of representation: 1) delegate; 2) political parties; 3) consensus. All
models are deduced from a normative theory of democracy. Goal of most studies
is to assess to what extent political reality is consistent with the normative ideal.
- Paper evaluates the delegate and political parties models.
- Luttbeg’s populist view of representative democracy: “The policies passed by
government must reflect the preferences of the public’s interest.”
- Ideal of a representative democracy = the identity between the will of the people
and government policy.
Political representation: a research agenda
