The Politics of Democratic Representation

The book discusses boundaries of electoral inclusion and mechanisms of electoral representation in contemporary democracies.

While the ancient Athenians took the idea of rule by the people to require direct popular participation in public decision-making and the appointment of officials by lottery mechanisms, democracy is nowadays interpreted electorally. We partake in government mostly by electing the legislative, and sometimes executive, officials who in turn make the substantive decisions. Yet, who “we” is and how electoral representation should function remains hotly contested. Controversies abound about the proper configuration of the demos – the body of persons who are enfranchised – the ways it is to exercise electoral choice and agency. This book takes up several carefully selected questions from these theoretical and political debates. Looking at the (dis)enfranchisement of children, cognitively disabled persons, and refugees, and discussing the forms of representation that might be afforded to external voters, future generations, and non-citizens, the contributions develop innovative arguments applying the basic principles of electoral democracy to the complexities of specific, real-world cases. Doing so, the contributions offer timely, yet unorthodox, perspectives on the theory and practice of electoral democracy.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy.

Benjamin Boudou is Professor of political theory at the University of Rennes, France.

Marcus Carlsen Häggrot is a political theorist and post-doctoral researcher at Sciences Po, France.