Suchergebnisse

The article deals with the question of who is to be represented within the institutions of modern representative democracy and systemizes the answers on the basis of fundamental approaches in political theory which address this problem. The exploration is contextualized within recent debates on transnational democracy, where the issue of political representation acquires renewed relevance. The article first outlines the liberal theory of representation, identified primarily as having an individualistic nature although it does incorporate certain elements of group representation in the setting of the modern state. Subsequently, the article explores the conservative and communitarian theory of representation, which builds upon the notions of representation of collectivities as morally relevant subjects endowed with distinct interests of their own. Finally, it covers the radical democratic theory of representation, which emphasizes chiefly the themes of acknowledging group difference and the necessity of recognizing the claims of disadvantaged groups in the area of political representation. The article concludes by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the respective approaches with regard to democratic functioning on the transnational level. Adapted from the source document.