The Conditions of Representation: Contestation, Mediation and Political Claims

Abstract

This theory-oriented panel addresses a foundational question in contemporary political theory: under what conditions does political representation emerge and acquire authority? Challenging approaches that ground representation in prior authorisation, identity, or affectedness, the panel conceptualises representation as a relational and dynamic process shaped by contestation, mediated through institutional and symbolic forms, and articulated through political claims. The panel works around the premise that representative relationships are not simply expressions of pre-existing political subjects or interests, but are actively constituted through practices that respond to disagreement, translate across social and political boundaries, and render certain actors, values, or entities representable. Contestation appears as a productive condition that motivates representative claims and structures their political relevance. Mediation is approached as a necessary dimension of representation in contexts marked by distance, asymmetry, or the absence of direct authorisation, encompassing legal, institutional, discursive, and normative forms of translation. Political claims are examined as the primary vehicles through which representative relationships are advanced, stabilised, and contested over time. By bringing these perspectives together, the panel advances a processual and post-foundational understanding of representation. It highlights how representative politics operates under conditions of uncertainty and indeterminacy, and how political authority is negotiated rather than given.

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