Representation

Representation is a re-presentation of someone or something that is in some sense absent. A country may send an ambassador to another country and a delegate to an international body (such as the United Nations), and those persons are said to represent that nation. The governing officials who decide the foreign policy of that nation are not (typically) present in person, but the delegate speaks for the decision makers in their absence and, by extension, for the nation itself. (The commitments made by such delegates do not oblige the delegate personally but the nation.)

Representation, therefore, often is understood as a process engaged in by persons who "stand in" or "stand for" others. Such representatives may stand in for the nation, a government, or even a single individual (as occurs when a person is represented by a lawyer in a court of law). Representation in the broadest sense, however, does not occur only between persons. Flags, for example, are said to represent a nation, province, or, in fact, any entity that may choose to use a flag. In this case, a person is not representing, and it may not be a person (or persons) who is represented. An artist may put forward a work intended, for example, to represent the pain and destruction caused by warfare. Such an artwork may represent an abstraction and not reference any particular persons or collectivity.

Persons who act as representatives, or who engage in acts of representation, also may represent abstractions in the sense that their account of what they represent may not correspond with a given person or interested party's specific wishes; rather, they claim to speak for a common cause, one unattached to specific persons or factions . They may claim to speak for a particularly broad interest (e.g., a commercial interest or consumers), or they may claim to speak as representatives of ideals (e.g., equality or world peace).

Acts of representation are an everyday part of public political life, and they often stir conflict in societies. Groups and persons of all kinds find themselves and others represented (in words or images) in popular forums. Often those represented (or those who concern themselves with how others are represented) believe the representation is flawed or misleading. Representations therefore may be used as a part of a political strategy by casting others in a positive or negative light. Group members may even disagree with one another as to how they should choose to represent themselves. In the study of governments, the forms of representation that capture the most attention among social scientists, however, are those that involve persons standing for other persons or for specific interests.

representative forms of government

The seventeenth-century British political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) argued that the governed ought to think of their leader (or leaders) as a sovereign representative. In the life without government (Hobbes called this the "state of nature") individuals must rely on themselves to ensure their protection and have, Hobbes insisted, the right to pursue their protection by any means they judge necessary. However, when they consent to make someone (or an assembly of persons) their sovereign, they all agree to a social contract by which they transfer these rights and judgments to their sovereign, which becomes the subjects' representative in that after the transfer of these rights the sovereign's words and actions are to be understood as the subjects' own. As such, subjects are obliged to obey those representatives they have authorized in the social contract and to support no rival authorities so long as the sovereign protects them.

Hobbes's sovereign representative, however, only partially explains what most modern citizens associate with representative forms of government. Persons living under representative governments also expect that they will be represented in deliberative bodies that determine how they are governed. (According to the logic of the republican tradition, people could not be considered free if they did not play a role in determining their own laws.) The most important of these bodies are legislatures (bodies that make—or at least play an essential role in making—laws).

Not all members of deliberative bodies are placed there by election. Some may be appointed by persons in government; positions in some deliberative bodies have been passed down by hereditary right. In democratic societies, however, election processes are the usual method for selecting representatives to lawmaking bodies. In some democratic countries governing heads of state (often called presidents) are selected through elections. In some countries ceremonial heads of state may be said to represent the nation, but their representation is largely symbolic. They do not govern, and they may or may not be elected.

How an elected official should perform the functions of representation is a matter of debate. What counts as adequate representation? For citizens in democratic societies, where sovereignty is said to rest ultimately in the people, this question must be asked when the people are electing, or reelecting, representatives. The same applies for members of organizations that profess democratic principles. Rules for when states and organizations hold elections vary. Representatives may be sent for a fixed term and may or may not be permitted to run for re-election. Other systems may involve a process by which elections are called or triggered by a vote of no confidence by a legislative body or members of an organization.

In part, expectations placed on a representative are determined by the method of election. Many popular representatives in legislative bodies are elected by persons within a specific geographic region. Typically, the candidate who wins the majority of votes is elected (additional, or run-off, elections between top candidates may be necessary if no candidate wins a majority). Regional, state, or provincial representatives are expected to defend and promote the interests of their constituents , but they also may feel competing pressure to conform to ideological goals because of their affiliation with a particular political party.

In many parts of the world the election processes may work according to a different logic, called proportional representation —many governments combine some elements of geographic representation and proportional representation. Systems of proportional representation vary, but in general parties present voters across regions with a list of candidates. Voters are asked to select a party list or, in some cases, specific candidates on the party list. The number of seats won in the legislative body (or the proportion allotted through proportional representation) by a party is determined by the total number of votes each party receives. In this system, unlike geographic representation, a majority of votes within a given region does not elect a single representative from that region; minorities with a sufficient number of votes in their favor (a minimum number of votes determined as a part of the rules) gain representation in rough proportion to their share of votes among the entire enfranchised population. The method of proportional representation asks voters to respond primarily to the party's publicized commitments rather than to the commitments a candidate might make to a particular district.

In systems of parliamentary government, in which those capable of assembling a majority of seats in the parliament are entitled to form a government, ruling coalitions may consist of elected representatives from more than one party. Relatively small parties in the legislature may gain leverage over larger parties by tipping the balance in favor of a majority coalition. The duties of representatives in these circumstances might be pulled in at least two directions at once: the duty to uphold the party ideals and promises that won them votes in the election and the duty to coalition partners to honor agreements that make it possible to form the majority coalition. The question of which method to use is very often a point of conflict, especially in states that are beginning a process of democratization .

What does it mean to represent a particular constituency? Does the representation of people require that the representative resemble the citizens who put him or her into office? How close should the resemblance be? Proponents of proportional representation often claim a greater correspondence between the general electorate and its representatives. Representations of any kind, however, are not expected to be exact duplicates of that which they represent (representations are not copies), and what it would mean to duplicate a large population precisely is by no means clear given the dynamic nature of legislative processes.

Representation in this context, however, often is thought to imply a duty to present the opinions, the sentiments, or at least the interests of the citizens who elected the representative. Typically, geographic representatives feel the greatest obligation to represent the views of the majority of voters (the persons who elected them to office), but within democratic societies it is not unusual for such representatives also to profess a dedication to represent all persons in

their region. The decisions of a regional representative often are colored by a desire to be reelected. A representative who wins by a large majority may conduct himself or herself differently than does one who wins by a slim margin. On some political questions the representative may feel he or she has wide latitude and on other issues may feel a strict requirement to vote in accordance with the wishes of voting majority.

Nevertheless, the duty of the representatives—even those who believe that they must echo the views of their constituents—is not always clear. In a deliberative assembly, issues may come before the representative concerning which the electorate may have no opinion or no clear opinion. An ambassador is typically free to explain the complexities of deliberations to responsible parties in government and ask for instructions. Elected representatives rarely have this opportunity and cannot always count on finding a majority opinion in their constituency on the issues that arise in any specific vote in the legislature. More often, democratically elected representatives (if and when they are asked) explain their votes and decisions to their constituents after they have made them.

Representatives therefore often find it necessary to fall back on the principle that their decisions promote the welfare of those they represent, which in many instances may prove a workable solution. However, what if a representative concludes that the wishes of his or her constituents are contrary to their welfare? Representatives who wish to ensure the welfare of their constituents in these cases are in a more difficult situation. Some representatives may feel duty bound to vote their constituents' wishes regardless of their own views. Others, however, may feel an obligation to what they see as their constituents' "true interests."

Political parties also may play a strong role in determining votes. In these situations explanations offered after the fact may become critical. Representatives (and parties) may lose votes and elections, and voters may become better educated about their interests. The give-and-take between representatives and the represented can be understood as a part of a well-functioning representative democracy.

edmund burke

Representatives in governing deliberative bodies therefore frequently have to exercise their own judgment. How much latitude should a representative be allowed? The eighteenth-century British parliamentarian Edmund Burke (1729–1797) occupies one pole in debates over representation. He held that representatives in most instances should be largely independent of the voters' opinions.

According to Burke, the purpose of a parliament is deliberation . Writing at a time when the right to vote in his nation was very far from universal, Burke held that representatives should be selected from among the political elite. They should possess the powers of reasoning and be capable of weighing the various interests and points of view (including the grievances of various populations) but should base legislative decisions on what would be in the interest of the nation as a whole. Burke's estimation of the general population's intellect was not merely low (although it was); he also believed that persons deprived of the opportunity to deliberate in parliament were in no position to know what was best. Burke's notion of representation therefore was much closer to that of a trustee than conceptions of representation that stress representatives' role as a relay for the will of their constituencies.

Burke's conception often is contrasted with notions associated with liberal political philosophies. Here representatives within deliberative legislative bodies are not necessarily perceived as being far above their constituencies in ability or rank. Instead, as representatives they are seen as accountable for passing on the opinions of their constituencies. If a legislative body is designed to allow the nation in all its diverse points of view to deliberate over and vote on matters of law and policy, the duty of the representative on this delegate theory is to ensure that the constituents' views and preferences are made known and promoted.

james madison

Whereas Burke counted on the superior wisdom of representatives to ensure that the true welfare of the nation is not harmed by the wishes of misinformed constituents, some liberal theorists, perhaps most notably the American Federalist James Madison (1751–1836), believed that the best safeguards for the well-being of the nation would be found in the design of representative institutions. From the Madisonian point of view, the greatest danger facing democracies is faction, by which he meant a collectivity (either a majority or a minority) of persons united by goals harmful to the rights of some other citizens or to the permanent or collective interests of the nation as a whole.

Early small democratic communities in which each citizen was entitled to participate in government often were disadvantaged by the problem of factions. A relatively small number of persons might coordinate to form a majority to tyrannize minority groups or specific citizens. Because of these problems such "direct democracies" were criticized for creating particularly unstable regimes , communities where the lives and property of individuals or minorities might be unsafe.

Mechanisms of representation, however, allow for larger states that cover a range of geographic regions and therefore a greater combination of interests. Because of this, Madison held, such states had a distinct advantage. A much wider range of interests would be represented in the legislative body, and therefore a majority faction would be much more difficult to form. Factions may achieve some success on local levels, but the possibility of kindling a vicious sentiment across a diverse nation was thought much more difficult. Indeed, Madison thought that potential factious majorities would be less likely even to discover their numbers or act in unison in such a system.

Within this form of representative government, therefore, the greatest safeguard against vicious motives was not a belief in the superior moral faculties of those who are elected as representatives (although Federalist writings expressed the hope that this would prove true) but the expectation that even if each representative devotes himself or herself strictly to the local preferences of his or her constituency, the dynamic conflict between interests in a national assembly would help ensure that interests would check one another.

See also: Democracy; Republic.

bibliography

Burke, Edmund. The Portable Edmund Burke, ed. Isaac Kramnick. New York: Penguin Books, 1999.

Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay. The Federalist Papers (1787–1788), ed. Clinton Rossiter. New York: Signet Classics, 2003.

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan (1651), ed. Edwin Curley. Indianapolis IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1994.

Mill, John Stuart. "Considerations on Representative Government" (1841). In Three Essays on Liberty, Representative Government, The Subjection of Women. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press 1975. (Original work published 1861)

Pitkin, Hanna F. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.

Ted H. Miller