Democratic Representation beyond Election

Abstract

Today there is widespread disillusionment about election as the embodiment of popular will. In many countries, populist leaders, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups and celebrities step in to do what elected representatives no longer are prepared or able to do, namely to “make present” the people they claim to represent. Still, without recourse to election as a source of legitimacy, how do we know that such representation is democratic? This article offers a framework for thinking about democratic representation beyond election. It argues, firstly, that modern democracy is a unique form of government made up of representative claims. To act on behalf of the people without electoral backup is therefore not foreign to modern democracy, but integral to its very operation. At the same time, not all claims to represent the people are necessarily democratic. In order to distinguish democratic from nondemocratic representative claims, it argues, secondly, that it is necessary to qualify what it means to act on behalf of the people, and that such qualification can be found in the principle of equality. The article concludes by exploring the significance of this framework for the crisis of electoral democracy.