The Politics of Representation: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Findings on the Struggle About Representation

Abstract

Today in many countries the proclaimed direct representation of the “true people” threatens liberal democracy and the rule of law. Representative pluralist democracy is under threat by claims of populist and nationalists claim to practice "true" representation. For some, this constitutes a form of symbolic representation, following specific aesthetic patterns and triggering imaginations about unity, sovereignty, and control. Others emphasize pluralistic, hedonistic and anarchic elements. Competing conceptions of political representation confront each other in the public sphere. A deeper understanding of this competition of different modes of representation is needed.