The Good Representative Revisited

Abstract

The panel contributes to ongoing scholarly conversations on the meaning of ‘good representatives,’ (e.g., Dovi, 2006; 2018; Rubenstein et al., 2018; Salkin, 2025) and the need to theorise representation ethics (e.g., Severs and Dovi, 2018). In 'The Good Representative' (2006), Suzanne Dovi argued that democratic citizens should assess their representatives by their display of three virtues: they must be fair-minded, build critical trust, and be good gatekeepers. Since its publication, the field of political representation has been characterised by theoretical innovations (e.g. the ‘claim-making’ paradigm, Saward 2020) that have radically altered our understanding of political representation, the act it takes, the actors involved and how we can determine its quality. Similarly, empirical research has helped draw out the complexity of representation dilemmas (including the trade-off between group advocacy and within-group deliberation and how political organisations structure their members’ representative behaviour). Additionally, we observe that across many (western and non-western) countries citizens are willing to condone political leaders’ democratic norm-breaking behaviour so long as this seems to promote their interests. This signals that research on representation ethics must consider the cumulative effects of democratic norm-transgressions and how they corrode the broader democratic fabric and ecology of representative systems. Drawing from contemporary research, this panel aims to further critical thinking on the ethics of representation and its relevance to representation theory in the face of disagreements and democratic norm-breaking behaviour. The panel brings together papers that consider, on the one hand, the broader ecosystem of representative democracy and its functioning and, on the other hand, citizens’ and politicians’ perspectives on representation ethics.

Title	Details
Toxic Representative Ecosystems: Two Kinds of Threats	View Paper Details
“In the Eye of the Practitioner”: A Comparative Study of Young MPs Across Europe and Their Views on What Makes for a Good Representative	View Paper Details
Working With, Not Speaking For: Empirical Perspectives on the Good Representation of the Marginalised and Absent	View Paper Details
Received Truths, Autonomy, and the Ethics of Political Representation	View Paper Details
Trustworthiness and Political Representation	View Paper Details