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Summary in English.

The text outlines the evolution as well as the coincidence of the two notions of Representation & of Participation in their political aspects. The argumentation starts with an historical & political excursus of the receipt of the concept of <>, positively shared/acknowledged only in the Modern Age. Also concerning Representation, the paper follows its historical developments in order to underline the differences among the ideas of fiduciary representation, task & sociological representations. Starting from the relationships between the forms of political representation & "bottom-up" participation, the topic of quality of democracy emerges. By the way, if representation processes exclude the idea of direct participation, new ways of expressions are opened to citizens with expansion of the right to vote & social & political associations. The reason why people want to participate to political life can be highlighted by stressing two concepts of participation, the instrumental & the symbolic ones. Since in this context the parties (above all the mass-ones) set up a clasp between society & its institutions, they are called to answer to the instances of accountability & responsiveness which nowadays represent a topic point in the "democracies of disaffection.". References. Adapted from the source document.

Summary in English.

The paper analyses, the communal councils, consejos comunales, in the Sucre State of Venezuela. Communal councils are political bodies, centred on popular assemblies, of small settlements or urban neighbourhoods comprising up to 400 families. The paper addresses three crucial issues: a) their legislative background and creation of communal councils since 2006; b) the process of elaboration, financing and implementations of projects by communities; c) the participation of neighbours to the participatory processes. Communal council, notwithstanding substantial state and party interference, are minute segments of society that constitute themselves as political bodies thus overcoming the dichotomy between elected politicians and citizens through forms of self-organization and an egalitarian participation. Adapted from the source document.

The close outcome of the Italian general elections of 2006 highlights the crucial role of floating voters, switching from one coalition to its opponent. Using survey data, the paper studies the relation between the degree of political interest & knowledge of individual voters & their propensity to switch between competing coalitions in subsequent elections. Two rival hypotheses are proposed. The first, dubbed the "electoral market," states that most vote change happens among the most interested & informed. On the contrary, the rival hypothesis of the "electoral bazaar" envisages a scenario where floating voters are mostly among the least politically involved. The results of the analysis show a marked difference between patterns in the First & the Second Republic. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

The article analyses some relatively new aspects of the Participatory Budgeting in Porto Alegre. In particular it tackles the double bond for the Conselho do Orcamento Participativo (imperative mandate & budget constraint according to redistributive justice), as well as the rule providing for an equal proportion between the participants at the assemblies & the number of delegates for each Forum. Participatory budgeting is suggesting to be a procedure aimed at adopt fair decision from a social point of view, & not only at promote the largest political participation of the citizens. According to the author the originality of the Brazilian experiment is to propose the formalization of "constitutional" rules for achieving social justice, beyond the virtues of popular participation. Adapted from the source document.