Key Concepts

Overview

What is representation? What does it mean when a politician represents citizens in government? How can citizens be represented beyond the boundaries of the nation-state?

These are just some of the questions which will be answered by Mónica Brito Vieira and David Runciman as they explain why representation should be understood as one of the key concepts in modern politics. The first part of the book examines the historical roots of the concept of representation, from its origins in ancient Rome through to its role in the revolutionary politics of the modern world. The second looks at different varieties of representation – in law as well as politics. The final part asks how the concept of representation can help us think creatively about current and future challenges facing the world.

Representation is too often treated as a secondary or qualifying idea – as in the phrase ‘representative democracy’. This book argues that we have this the wrong way round. Representation is the foundational idea in almost all areas of our political life. Making sense of representation in its own terms is crucial for seeing why democracy functions the way it does, and for exploring how it might function differently.

About the Author

Mónica Brito Vieira is a Research Fellow at New Hall College, University of Cambridge; David Runciman is Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Part I: The History of Representation
• Chapter One: The Roots of Political Representation
• Chapter Two: Representation vs. Democracy
• Part II: The Logic of Representation
• Chapter Three: Representing Individuals
• Chapter Four: Representing Groups
• Part III: The Politics of Representation
• Chapter Five: Representing the State
• Chapter Six: Representation Beyond the Nation-State
• Epilogue: Representing the Future?

Endorsements

“Runciman and Vieira track the history of the idea of representation, break apart the complex of themes that it encodes, and reveal some salient lessons for the internal and external organization of states. This is rich, intriguing and important stuff — political theory at its best.”

— Philip Pettit, Princeton University

“The authors succeed splendidly in their admirable ambition to survey the past, present and future of the concept of representation in a manner that is at once accessible and original, giving both neophyte and expert plenty to think about.”

— Richard Bellamy, University College London