Shadow representation: counter-claim making and contesting official political representation

This paper develops and interrogates the concept and practice of shadowing in political representation. Shadow representation is conceptualised here as a particular kind of claim-making that occurs when a non-elected representative offers an alternative voice to the official political representative, such as an elected representative or an authorised non-elected representative. Shadow representatives are counter claim-makers who seek to rectify perceived representative deficiencies in the official representative. The practice of shadow representation is not uncommon in contentious areas of public policy, where, for example, an unofficial ‘representative’ group might establish itself to provide an alternative voice to a formally authorised ‘representative’ committee. However, this kind of counter-claim making is rare in the context of electoral representation, especially in those electoral systems where constituencies are defined geographically. In such systems, representatives are elected to represent a district and they are not typically shadowed by an alternative unofficial representative. This paper offers unique empirical insights into the enactment of shadow representation in the electoral arena by drawing on recent political events in Australia. Since the 2022 federal election a number of unsuccessful independent (non-party affiliated) candidates have positioned themselves as a ‘counter voice’ in their local electorate, with some self-labelling their role as ‘the shadow representative’. The paper examines the motivations and activities of these unofficial local representatives (all of whom were almost elected) drawing empirical insights from interview data, participant observation, and social and print media. The analysis reveals four different manifestations of shadow representation in the electoral arena. The paper considers the normative benefits and limitations of shadow representation, particularly in and around electoral processes. In an era of declining trust in institutional politics, shadow representatives could potentially fulfil an important role in building public confidence in the formal representative process by scrutinising the activities of elected officials and holding them to account. However, some shadow representatives may pose democratic risks, particularly if their representative activities and counter claim-making serves to undermine the legitimacy and stability of electoral representation.