Title: Representation as “experiencing for”? Exposure as a political argument

Hannah Pitkin (1972) famously distinguished between two modes of representation: “standing for” and “acting for”. In our paper, we suggest that an analysis of contemporary democratic politics might lead us to conceptualize a third, neglected dimension of representation. We observe a mode of representation as “experiencing for”. Exploring this specific representational mode, we build on recent research on representation. Scholars have shifted attention to the performativity of representation: representatives create, shape, and influence the will of a constituency (Laclau 2005; Saward 2010). And yet, questions are lingering: How do representatives do this? What means, tools, devices, or even behavior do they use to perform representation? When reconsidering these questions, it proves indispensable to link modes of representation to the influence of modern media on politics and political communication. Accordingly, we understand “experiencing for” as one possible performance in representative democracies in a time when the presentation of politics is increasingly important. Today, in the age of personalized politics and social media, public actors are well-advised to convey personal messages to voters. Formats such as interviews, podcasts or individual video messages promote certain kinds of political speech and forms of talk (Séville/Müller 2024). Political actors not only narrate their biography, their political choices, perspectives and stances. They also present themselves as persons experiencing politics in their lives. We are observing a slight shift in the attribution of action to experience (Luhmann 1995). Politicians tell how they themselves move and feel in the field of politics so that one can have, for instance, empathy with them. In our paper, we illustrate this point with the help of case studies. Three examples might give a first impression: Annalena Baerbock, German Federal Foreign Minister, described the atrocities of the war on the ground in Ukraine in 2022. She displayed her shock and drew political conclusions from it. German Federal Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck sought to negotiate a gas deal in Qatar to solve the German energy crisis in winter 2022/2023. He recorded a selfie video in which he explained the dilemmas of his policy, exhibiting his agony. The current coalition members of SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, and FDP gave interviews after the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling on the unconstitutional budget in 2023. In all cases, citizens were called to watch political actors at the mercy of politics. Politicians could be perceived not only as actors, but also as individuals who experience politics and who are exposed to the crises of the world before the eyes of voters. They display how they are themselves subject to decisions by partners, institutions, governments, international agreements or mere events. And their experiences are set alongside their actions, which makes it crucial to discuss possible implications of “experiencing for” for our understanding of representation in democracy. References: Laclau, E. (2005). On populist reason. London. Luhmann, N. (1995). Social Systems. Stanford. Pitkin, H. (1972). The concept of representation. Berkeley, CA. Saward, M. (2010). The representative claim. Oxford. Séville, A./Müller, J. (2024). Politische Redeweisen. Tübingen.