Systemic Representation

Democracy, Deliberation, and Nonelectoral Representatives

Bibliographic Data

ID4887486
AuthorsJonathan W Kuyper (0000-0001-6471-0907, Stockholm University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume110
Issue2
Pages308-324
Publication date2016-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055416000095
OpenAlexW2478188359
LanguageEN
Citations received59
References cited45

This article explores the relationship between non-electoral representatives and democratic legitimacy by combining the recent constructivist turn in political representation with systemic work in deliberative theory. Two core arguments are advanced. First, non-electoral representatives should be judged by their position in a wider democratic system. Second, deliberative democracy offers a productive toolkit by which to evaluate these agents. I develop a framework of systemic representation which depicts the elemental parts of a democratic system and assigns normative standards according to the space occupied. The framework gives priority of democratic analysis to the systemic level. This helps mitigate a central concern in the constructivist turn which suggests that representatives mobilize constituencies in ways that are susceptible to framing and manipulation. I engage in case-study analysis of the collapsed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement to unpack the different spaces occupied by non-electoral representative and elucidate the varied democratic demands that hinge on this positioning

Deliberation · Democracy · Democratic Theory · Framing (construction · Legitimacy · Normative · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Sociology · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Law · Public Administration · Regulation and Compliance Studies · Social Media and Politics