Normativity, Representation and the Constructivist Turn: Reassessing the Representative Claims Approach

Abstract

The so-called constructivist turn in political representation takes representation to be constitutive of interests, groups, constituencies, and so on. That is, interests and identities do not exist independently of their representation by political activists, parties and institutions. However, this creates a challenge for anyone who wish to normatively judge representative claims: how is it possible to judge representative claims if there are no interests and identities independent of the representative claims and vis-á-vis which we can judge the claims? The papers on this panel examine the possibility of making normative judgements about representative claims, focusing on Michael Saward's theory of the representative claim in particular.

Title	Details
Making Representations: Standpoint, Context, Legitimacy	View Paper Details
Re-Conceptualizing Democratic Federalization	View Paper Details
Representative Performative Acts in Between Symbolic and Substantial Political Effects: an Explorative Normative Account	View Paper Details
Constructivist Representation and Democracy: A Rhetorical Perspective	View Paper Details