Representation and Democratic Theory

ISBN-13: 9780774810784 / Angielski / Twarda / 2004 / 304 str.

David Laycock

Opis

With public confidence in representative institutions dropping to distressing levels, it is time for political theorists to turn their attention to representation, and to reconceive its normative foundations and connections to other aspects of a revived public life.This volume investigates theoretical and practical aspects of innovative political representation in the early 21st century. Some contributors tackle problematic dimensions of representation head on, while others explore democratic participation and deliberation, multicutural pluralism, contested citizenship, and other background conditions of contemporary representation. Still others consider the challenges posed to representation by national minorities, national boundaries, multinational and federal governance, and cultural and social obstacles to either individual or group autonomy. Throughout, the volume reveals the complexity of contemporary political representation, and demonstrates how normative attention to the problem of representation can crystallize and illuminate debates over the nature of justice, equality, citizenship and deliberation in modern democratic politics.A crucial supplement to empirical studies of conventional political representation, Representation and Democratic Theory offers a timely and thought-provoking contribution to contemporary democratic theory. It will be a necessary and welcome addition to the libraries of many political and social scientists.