Representative Legitimacy Under Strain

Session Submission Type: Full Submitted Panel

Session Description

The legitimacy of representative democracy is currently under strain in many advanced democracies, with trust sagging, populists attacking elites, and direct democratic alternatives proliferating. The internet enables but also undermines the representative-constituent relationship. Non-elected self-appointed representatives make claims that may or may not be legitimate. Citizens struggle to assess representative claims, authorize representatives, and hold those representatives accountable. New possibilities arise for communication between citizens and their elected representatives. As democratic representative systems enter troubled times, these papers address the problems and potentialities in these areas for representative legitimacy

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 3: NORMATIVE POLITICAL THEORY

Individual Presentations

• Recursive Representation in the Representative System - Jane Mansbridge, Harvard Kennedy School

• On Self-Appointed Representation - Laura Montanaro, University of Essex

• Only Judging: The Volatility of Democratic Citizenship in the Era of Internet - Nadia Urbinati, Columbia University

• The Duties of Informal Political Representatives - Wendy Salkin, Harvard University

Chair

• Jane Mansbridge Harvard Kennedy School

Discussants

• Lisa J. Disch University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

• Michael Neblo Ohio State University