Political representation and the normative logic of two-level games

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Savage ◽  
Albert Weale
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
International Negotiation ◽  
Empirical Logic ◽  
Normative Logic

This paper develops the normative logic of two-level games linking international negotiation and domestic acceptability. The kernel of the logic is to be found in the claim that normatively governed relations involve agents simultaneously asking whether the expectations that they have under an agreement are reasonable given the expectations of others under that agreement. This normative logic mirrors the empirical logic that Putnam (1988) identified in his seminal account.The normative logic is derived from a consideration of relevant concepts of representation, and in particular the concepts of authorization in international negotiation and accountability in domestic ratification. Rawls’ (1996) distinction between the reasonable and the rational is then deployed to state normative conditions of domestic acceptability as well as the obligations of fairness that states owe to one another. Two implications for democratic theory are drawn.

scholarly journals Beyond the Empirical-Normative Divide: The Democratic Theory of Jane Mansbridge

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (04) ◽  
pp. 797-805
Author(s):  
Melissa S. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
James Madison ◽  
Graduate Course ◽  
Course Syllabi ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Science Methodology ◽  
Scholarly Inquiry

Jane Mansbridge's intellectual career is marked by field-shifting contributions to democratic theory, feminist scholarship, political science methodology, and the empirical study of social movements and direct democracy. Her work has fundamentally challenged existing paradigms in both normative political theory and empirical political science and launched new lines of scholarly inquiry on the most basic questions of democratic equality, deliberation, collective action, and political representation. Her three best-known books—Beyond Adversary Democracy(1980),Why We Lost the ERA(1986) andBeyond Self-Interest(1990a)—have become part of the political science canon and remain staples on graduate course syllabi decades after their publication. The importance of Mansbridge's work has been recognized by her colleagues through a trifecta of major APSA awards: the Gladys M. Kammerer Award (1987), the Victoria Schuck Award (1988), and, most recently, the James Madison Award and Lecture (2011).

Political Representation in Leader Democracy

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
András Körösényi
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Public Office

AbstractThe essay focuses on the neglected problem of democratic politics, i.e. on the role of leadership. Although in democracies public office holders are controlled to a certain extent, leaders still have wide room for political manoeuvre and decide without any ‘instruction’ of the citizens. Re-working Weber's and Schumpeter's theory, the author aims to build the model of leader democracy. He highlights the major traits of it in a comparison with the deliberative and the aggregative–utilitarian concepts of democratic theory. The theory of leader democracy is applied to the problem of representation, which, in contrast to mechanical mirroring, gains a new, dynamic and qualitative meaning.

Contemporary Populist Representation and Its Implications for Democracy

2022 ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Renáta Ryoko Drávucz
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Party Government ◽  
Conceptual Background ◽  
Theoretical Assessment ◽  
Shed Light

This chapter aims to shed light on the connections between populism, democracy, and democratic theory by providing a theoretical assessment of contemporary populism and populist representation as an alternative form of political representation to party government or as a corrective of it. The chapter summarizes the conceptual background relating to democracies, populism, and contextual surroundings. Then, it proceeds to investigate how they relate to each other in present-day politics. The author argues that populism is a strategic political style that exploits the gap between the promise and the actual performance of democracies thus reflects on democratic reality. Hence, it embodies what realist democratic theory has argued for quite some time now about the nature of politics. Namely: voters are irrational, our notions of democracy are delusional and populist politicians seem to have realized it first..

Revisiting the constructivist turn in political representation

2021 ◽  
pp. 147488512110559
Author(s):  
Fabio Wolkenstein
Keyword(s):  
Representation Theory ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The State ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
New Politics ◽  
Theoretical Innovation ◽  
Constructivist Approaches

In recent times, representation theory has become one of the most productive and interesting sub-fields in democratic theory. Arguably, the most important theoretical innovation are the so-called ‘constructivist’ approaches to political representation. These approaches play a central role in Creating Political Presence: The New Politics of Democratic Representation and The Constructivist Turn in Political Representation, two impressive volumes that take stock of the state of the art in representation theory. I discuss the two volumes by focusing on three broader and interconnected themes: the problem that constructivism is meant to respond to, the tendency of representation theorists to expand the possibilities of representation as broadly as possible, and the normative aspects of political representation and how constructivists deal with them.

The Constructivist Turn in Political Representation

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Central Concept ◽  
Claude Lefort ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Critical Exploration ◽  
Comprehensive Introduction ◽  
Critical Intervention

This is the first edited volume to provide a comprehensive introduction and a critical exploration of the constructivist turn in political representation. Divided into three thematic parts, the 13 newly commissioned essays presented here develop constructivist turn as a central concept advancing the insight that there can be no democratic politics without representation because constituencies, or groups, exist as agents of democratic politics only insofar as they are represented. Complete with an original English translation of ‘Democracy and Representation’ by the French philosopher Claude Lefort, this volume delivers a rich critical intervention in democratic theory.

Designing for Feminist Democratic Representation

2020 ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Karen Celis
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
Design Practices ◽  
First Offers ◽  
Normative Ideals

Chapter 4 opens the second part of Feminist Democratic Representation. It first offers a discussion of the recent institutional and representational turn in democratic theory. Four ideals are identified that speak to concerns with women’s political representation: (i) democratic representation connects the institutional and the societal, (ii) democratic representation is creative and educative, (iii) democratic representation is deliberative, and (iv) democratic representation unifies and builds trust. These normative ideals are very promising but on their own only go so far. Added to them are the feminist principles of inclusiveness, responsiveness, and egalitarianism. Together these produce the feminist democratic effects that the authors seek. To this end, an introduction is provided to the design thinking and the specificities of the design practices envisaged. Chapter 4 is, therefore, where the authors’ approach is situated within the emerging literature on democratic design.

Agonale Demokratie und Staat

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Ernesto Laclau ◽  
Chantal Mouffe ◽  
William Connolly

This volume presents new perspectives on how an agonistic understanding of politics, which emphasises disagreement and conflict, can be made fruitful for debates on state theory. It deals with the theories by Chantal Mouffe, Ernesto Laclau, Bonnie Honig, William Connolly, James Tully and other theorists who advocate an agonistic understanding of politics. The volume discusses parliament, parties, political representation, the demos, law, the constitution and science. In addition, it shows what it means to understand stabilised social practices and discourses as institutions. The volume is aimed at students and teachers in higher education as well as researchers who are interested in the further developments of agonistic democratic theory. With contributions by Christoph Held, Steffen Herrmann, Dirk Jörke, Oliver Lembcke, Miriam Malte, Franziska Martinsen, Danny Michelsen, Milos Rodatos, Luzia Sievi, Rieke Trimҫev, Stefan Wallaschek, Manon Westphal and Gabriele Wilde.

Silence of the Land: On the Historical Irrelevance of Territory to Congressional Districting and Political Representation in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 53-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Rehfeld
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
Congressional District ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
Communities Of Interest

Every ten years, the United States “constructs” itself politically. On a decennial basis, U.S. Congressional districts are quite literally drawn, physically constructing political representation in the House of Representatives on the basis of where one lives. Why does the United States do it this way? What justifies domicile as the sole criteria of constituency construction? These are the questions raised in this article. Contrary to many contemporary understandings of representation at the founding, I argue that there were no principled reasons for using domicile as the method of organizing for political representation. Even in 1787, the Congressional district was expected to be far too large to map onto existing communities of interest. Instead, territory should be understood as forming a habit of mind for the founders, even while it was necessary to achieve other democratic aims of representative government.

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