Evoking the resemblance
Descriptive representation of ethnic minorities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6255600 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jelena Lončar (0000-0002-2374-872X, University of Belgrade, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 701-724 |
| Publication date | 2024-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethnicities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-7968 • E-ISSN: 1741-2706 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14687968231166514 |
| OpenAlex | W4353039709 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
The constructivist approach to political representation has shown that descriptive representation cannot be reduced to passive presence. Descriptive representatives rather actively contribute to the construction of constituencies’ identities. Nevertheless, the existing empirical literature still dominantly operationalizes descriptive representation as mere presence of group members in the representative institutions. This article adds to the previous efforts of rethinking descriptive representation in the more constructivist terms by defining it as consisting of two necessary elements: 1) construction of a representative through activation of claim-maker’s ethnicity, and 2) portrayals of ethnic constituency. The article argues that descriptive representation is performed through the use of diverse boundary mechanisms. In the process of positioning themselves and portraying their constituency, representatives work with and around ethnic boundaries. Using the case of ethnic minority representation in Serbia, the article demonstrates how resemblance or group membership is not necessarily transparent and self-evident. Instead, representatives first need to activate and deploy ethnic boundaries to be perceived as group’s descriptive representatives. In doing so, they also tell stories about ethnic groups, which are consequential upon the ways group members perceive themselves and relations within and across the boundaries
Descriptive research · Descriptive statistics · Ethnic group · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · European Union Policy and Governance · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
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Ethnic Struggle, Coexistence, and Democratization in Eastern Europe
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The Politics of Collective Violence
Performance and politics
Descriptive representation and political knowledge
Ethnic Conflict
The Routledge handbook of East European politics
Authorisation and Authenticity
Recruitment and Representation of Ethnic Minorities under Proportional Representation
Ethnicization or de-ethnicization? Hungarian political representation in the Romanian parliament
Roma as a political identity
Rendering’ Ethnicity in the Mauritius National Assembly
Speaking as a Woman
Explaining motivation to represent
The Constitutive Representation of Gender
Substantive Representation Through a Claims-Making Lens
The Substantive Representation of Women
Rethinking Descriptive Representation
Political candidates’ attitudes towards group representation
The New Competitive Authoritarianism
Making a presence
More than voters
What do descriptive representatives describe? Minority representative claims and the limits of shape-shifting
The Representative Claim
Can Descriptive Representation Change Beliefs about a Stigmatized Group? Evidence from Rural India
Preferable Descriptive Representatives
Toward a Mobilization Conception of Democratic Representation
Identities, Boundaries and Social Ties
Rethinking Ethnicity
Voting locally abstaining nationally
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |