Description
Book SynopsisAt a time when political representation can be said to be facing its ultimate crisis, this crucial work clarifies the terms of the debate, providing an up-to-date analysis of the main conceptual and institutional controversies that have arisen surrounding this topic.
Written by leading scholars in the field, contributions focus on how representation is conceptualised and its relation to democracy, examining how political institutions in different historical periods (ranging from the middle ages to the modern day) have ensured representation based on demands of various social forces. This Research Handbook also encapsulates the directions taken by the main strands of empirical research in political representation within the context of liberal democracies and beyond. Overall, this provides a major contribution to the growing understanding of one of the most important institutional inventions of contemporary politics.
The Research Handbook on Political Representation is a comprehensive and agile guide to the main bodies of literature on representation for academic researchers in political science, sociology and history. It will also guide post-graduate and graduate students of the same fields in the exploration of the crucial research questions arising from the concept and reality of political representation.
Trade Review‘This edited volume is empirically and especially theoretically rich and illuminates the fascinating ongoing research on political representation. Important and valuable, this splendid book will be a cornerstone of the scholarship regarding political representation for years to come.’ -- Martin Gross, Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
'Representation, which is at the heart of our system of liberal democracy, frames a series of key questions including: who are our representatives, who are they representing, how they represent, and how that process evolves over time. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the key theories and main forms of representation, the varying institutional contexts, and the various ways the concept can be measured and assessed. This Handbook promises to be the definitive study of this subject.'
-- David Farrell, University College Dublin, Ireland
Table of ContentsContents: General introduction to the Research Handbook on Political Representation xii Maurizio Cotta and Federico Russo SECTION I CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL DISCUSSIONS 1 Political representation: concepts, theories and practices in historical perspective 3 Federico Russo and Maurizio Cotta 2 The system of democratic representation and its normative principles 16 Dario Castiglione 3 Democracy and representation 36 Mark B. Brown 4 Policy responsiveness and democratic quality 48 Leonardo Morlino 5 Legitimacy and hegemony: two accounts of non-electoral representation 58 Eline Severs 6 Challenges to political representation: participatory democracy, direct democracy and populism 70 Simon Tormey SECTION II HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY MODELS OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION 7 From estate representation to the representation of the people and the nation in the Age of Revolutions 84 Pasi Ihalainen and Zachris Haaparinne 8 Individualistic representation in the liberal century – and beyond 98 Heinrich Best and Lars Vogel 9 Party-based representation: the paradox of democracy 109 Ian Budge 10 Corporatism and representation 121 Alan Siaroff 11 Technocratic representation 135 Daniele Caramani 12 Representation in authoritarian regimes 148 Maurizio Cotta SECTION III THE INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF REPRESENTATION 13 Electoral systems and representation 161 Alessandro Chiaramonte 14 Territorial and multilevel representation 171 Lori Thorlakson 15 Local jurisdiction size and political representation 183 Bas Denters 16 Electoral quotas and group representation 198 Mona Lena Krook 17 The political representation of women: a feminist institutionalist perspective 210 Joni Lovenduski 18 Ethnic minorities and representation 222 Miriam Hänni and Thomas Saalfeld SECTION IV REPRESENTATION AT WORK: OUTPUTS AND OUTCOMES 19 Types of democratic representative 239 Luca Verzichelli 20 Selecting representatives: methods and practices 253 Marco Lisi 21 Constituency service: incentives and consequences 266 Zsófia Papp 22 Measuring representation: policy congruence 276 Tom Louwerse and Rudy B. Andeweg 23 The fulfilment of election pledges 289 Elin Naurin and Robert Thomson 24 Interest groups and political representation 301 Laura Chaqués Bonafont 25 Responsiveness, the dynamic aspect of representation 314 Federico Russo 26 What to expect when you are expecting: preferences for representation among voters and political elites 326 Hanna Wass and Miroslav Nemčok 27 Representation and deliberation 338 Jürg Steiner Index
