Performing Political Representation

Abstract

The study of representation has undergone many shifts. Whereas early scholarship focussed on what interests are being represented (substantive) and by who (descriptive representation) (Pitkin 1972), the constructivist turn opened up research avenues to consider the fluidity of representation. Representation is herein no longer conceptualised as a static translation of citizens’ interests into the political realm (Saward 2010). It follows then that representation is no longer bound to particular people or topics. As the category of representative has become more expansive and interests are no longer seen as predefined, there is a need to better understand how the representative relation is constructed in practice. The question at hand is thus, how representation is performed. To explore this, inspiration is drawn from dramaturgical theory (Goffman 1956) and the political performance approach (Rai 2017). Using concepts from both representation and theatre studies, a novel approach to understanding political performances is furthered. This panel focusses on how politics in general, and representation in particular, is performed. It welcomes all papers that explore the performance of politics and representation. The panel hosts both more conceptual papers and case studies, to further both theoretical understanding and operational insights.

Title	Details
Dreaming of home? Representative Claim-Making and the Rise of Rural Parties in Europe	View Paper Details
Performing the People: The Specificity of Populist Representative Claims	View Paper Details
Elite Performances in Crisis: Navigating Uncertain Terrain following Kenya's Disputed Elections	View Paper Details
The making of: the creation of constituencies through implicit vs explicit representative claims	View Paper Details
Presence, crowds, and plebiscitary representation: Addressing a gap in the claim-making approach of representation	View Paper Details