Turbulent Times: Making Representative Democracy Work (Again)

Since the 1990s, the topic of political representation has become increasingly central to democratic theory. Scholars began to call into question the standard account of democratic representation, narrowly confined to electoral politics, and centred on territorial constituents (Urbinati & Warren 2008, 387). Scholarly attention was also reinforced by the ‘democratic rediscovery’ of political representation. The insight that representation constitutes the reality it appears to be describing only allowed to conceive of political representation as conducive to political participation: it contributes to, and is even considered essential to, opinion formation and judgment (Saward 2020; Disch 2011; Näsström 2006). However, at this very instance of ‘democratic rediscovery’, critiques on the malfunctioning of representative democracy are soaring and references to today’s ‘turbulent times’ are manifold. Contemporary party systems, once central intermediaries and platforms of public opinion formation, have lost much of their trustworthiness, and citizens increasingly call their representativeness in question (Mair 2013; Merkel 2019; Runciman 2019). Growing portions of the population seem to feel under-represented or misrepresented (Sawer 2013; Guasti and Almeida 2019; Akachar et al. 2017). The contemporary institutions and mechanisms of democratic representation appear ill-designed to meet the demands of today’s critical and/or dissatisfied citizens. Meanwhile, radical right, and populist movements thrive on widespread perceptions of insecurity, crises, anxiety, abandonment, and alienation (Wodak 2015; Kübler and Schäfer 2022). Against this backdrop, questions of democratic resilience arise. Are we witnessing new transformations in the fabric of representative democracy, and what are the normative implications thereof? This Section welcomes reflections on how to reinvigorate and/or transform representative democracy. The Section is open to theoretical, conceptual, and empirical contributions that discuss, clarify, and re-articulate how representative democracy may function under conditions of stress, turbulence, and emergency politics. Stress factors relate, but are not limited to, political polarisation, populism, digital media technology, the scale of contemporary problems (climate change) and growing international interdependence. In addition, we welcome contributions that articulate the conditions under which political representation may function democratically, and this across the broad array of electoral and non-electoral actors and institutions. Below, we propose Panels to which individual Papers can be submitted, though Section Chairs also welcome individual Panel proposals. 1. Transnational Representation Chair: John Erik Fossum (Arena Institute, University of Oslo) Political representation is mainly studied at the national level. But how well do our theories of (democratic) representation travel into the transnational domain? This Panel seeks Papers analysing the multi-level and transnational nature of representation and constituency formation, and reflecting upon the (dis)similarities with national representation. Papers may also reflect upon challenges to the upscaling of democracy and dynamics of power-sharing between national and supranational levels of governance. 2. Attitudes Towards and Political Representation of Sexual and Gender Minorities Chairs: L. Constantin Wurthmann (GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences) & Alberto López Ortega (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) The question of whether and to what extent sexual and gender minorities are politically represented remains understudied. With LGBTQ+ individuals becoming an increasingly visible electorate in Western democracies, the question of their political representation is by no means trivial. This Panel seeks Papers studying the representative claims made on behalf of LGBGQ+ individuals and how these minorities assess the claims made on their behalf. It also seeks Papers analysing the political attitudes toward and of sexual and gender minorities, groups which are often overlooked in the public sphere. 3. Between Weak and Strong Publics: the Function(s) of Representation in Deliberative Democracy Chairs: Clementina Gentile Fusillo (University of Sheffield) & Victor Sanchez-Mazas, University of Geneva Representative and deliberative models of democracy have been traditionally thought of as embodying two competing theories of political legitimacy. However, when representative democracy is considered as a specific institutional form of democracy – the dominant form in contemporary democratic politics – and deliberative democracy as an ideal of political communication, the opposition between both models appears less stark. This Panel seeks Papers reflecting on the normative, conceptual and empirical role of representation in deliberative democracy. Contributions should aim at: exposing/valorising latent forms of representation in practices of deliberative democracy, and investigating the place of representation in relation to the educative/transformative potential of deliberative processes. 4. Unelected Representatives and Representative Claims: Opening up New Developments in the Construction of Political Representation. Chairs: Andrea Vik (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and Pieter de Wilde (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) The constructivist approach extended the scope of representation studies beyond the realm of electoral politics and turned analytical attention to unelected representatives and the representative claims they formulate. This Panel seeks Papers that delve into the effects and content of representative claims and the psychological and communicative processes at play in the construction of representation. Papers should also consider how unelected claim-making may impact the functioning of democratic systems and the relationships between representatives and the public. 5. Political Representation and the European Union Chair: Lucy Kinski (University of Salzburg) To date, the European Union remains an institution sui generis. This Panel takes stock of the EU’s institutional design and practices and its potential for democratic representation. It welcomes Papers that empirically, conceptually and theoretically study political representation at the EU level and/or compare European-level forms of political representation to national processes and institutions. 6. Gatekeepers or Supporters? Political Parties and Youth Representation Chairs: Kira Renée Kurz (University of Freiburg & Université de Strasbourg) & Brit Anlar (Rutgers University) So far, research on group representation has mostly focused on gender, class, and ethnicity. The lack of attention to age as a category of marginalization could be the result of age-based norms around representation, or that the underrepresentation of certain age groups is viewed as less pertinent given that age is not a static part of one’s identity. In addition, the impact of political parties on youth representation and their role in recruiting and selecting young political candidates remains understudied.