Political Representation

by Edited by Ian Shapiro , Susan C. Stokes , Elisabeth Jean Wood , Alexander S. Kirshner

• ISBN13: 9780521111270
• ISBN10: 0521111277
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Political representation lies at the core of modern politics. Democracies, with their vast numbers of citizens, could not operate without representative institutions. Yet relations between the democratic ideal and the everyday practice of political representation have never been well defined and remain the subject of vigorous debate among historians, political theorists, lawyers, and citizens. In this volume, an eminent group of scholars move forward the debates about political representation on a number of fronts. Drawing on insights from political science, history, political theory, economics, and anthropology, the authors provide much-needed clarity to some of the most vexing questions about political representation. They also reveal new and enlightening perspectives on this fundamental political practice. Topics discussed include representation before democracy, political parties, minorities, electoral competition, and ideology. This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the ideal and the reality of political representation.

Author Biography

Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. Susan C. Stokes is John S. Saden Professor of Political Science and Director of the Yale Program on Democracy at Yale University. Elisabeth Jean Wood is Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Alexander S. Kirshner is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. vii
List of tables	p. viii
List of contributors	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Editors' introduction	p. 1
Representation before representative democracy
Hobbes's theory of representation: anti-democratic or proto-democratic?	p. 15
Participation and representation before democracy: petitions and addresses in premodern Britain	p. 35
Theories of political representation
Varieties of public representation	p. 61
Representative government and popular sovereignty	p. 90
Making interest: on representation and democratic legitimacy	p. 111
Representation and inherited injustice
Critical liberalism	p. 139
Settlers and natives in North America	p. 159
What role for representative quotas?
Perverse consequences? The impact of quotas for women on democratization in Africa	p. 211
On quotas and qualifications for office	p. 236
Preferences, persuasion, and democratic representation
Electoral representation and the aristocratic thesis	p. 271
Why does the Republican Party win half the votes?	p. 304
The impact of electoral debate on public opinions: an experimental investigation of the 2005 New York City mayoral election	p. 324
Swing voters, core voters, and distributive politics	p. 342
Index	p. 358
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.