"I speak for me and for you" - Affective representative claims and the rise of new representatives

Political abstention and non-voting are often understood as putting an end to representative politics and to be unrepresentable. Recent works in democratic theory, however, put forward the idea of understanding silence both as politically communicative and representable (Gray, 2023; Brito Viera, 2020; MacKenzie & Moore, 2020). The silence of abstentionist citizens and the increasing challenge of institutionalized representative politics, rather points to the need to consider new forms of representation and collectivization on behalf of silent citizens. Here, it is important to look at the impact of new modes of digital communication on political representation, since they democratize the position of authorship (Habermas, 2022) and give rise both to new representative claim-makers and audiences that might not be reached via more traditional channels of political communication. Being politically silent can be understood as a form of affective practice (Coleman, 2013; Sullivan, 2021; Coleman & Moss, 2022). Using affect and emotion as objects of representation may then be able to constitute silent parts of the citizenship. Building on the Gilets Jaunes movement, which managed to mobilize many previously silent citizens and imagined a constituency based on the affective and subjective life experiences of many French citizens, this contribution aims to conceptualize affective representative claims as a new form of representative claims. These claims move beyond articulating identities or interests and put forward a legitimate emotion that is to be felt in a specific context, thus enabling political subjectivation based on affect. These claims may be especially attractive for a part of a silent audience that sees representative politics as essentially corrupted and considers itself as apartisan: Making or accepting claims based on affective experiences allows one to remain in a subjective position, while nevertheless being able to speak for a generality. Coupled with the affective dynamics of digital media, these claims gave rise to new representatives within the Gilets Jaunes – ordinary citizens without the necessary forms of capital that make one a successful politician. While the movement was triggered by economic grievances, its widespread mobilization was fueled by viral selfie videos, in which ordinary citizens spoke their minds about their perceived humiliation by political elites and their subjective-affective life experiences. This case yields several interesting dynamics, that are to be conceptualized: These emotional selfie-videos did not necessarily start with representative intent in mind, rather, they were digital self-representations, afforded through the affectivity of social media. However, the affective resonance of these videos quickly put the authors in a representative position, as they met with high-ranking French politicians or were frequent guests in media shows. Thus, these figureheads put forward political talking points, while being able to claim to speak either only for themselves or only for the generalized affective experience of French citizens. Analyzing the representative dynamics within the Gilets Jaunes and conceptualizing affective representative claims yields insights for the emergence of new representatives, shifting parameters for the legitimacy of representation, and new modes of constituting and representing formerly disengaged citizens.