Recent work on the idea of political representation has challenged effectively
orthodox accounts of constituency and interests. However, discussions of
representation need to focus more on its dynamics prior to further work on its
forms. To that end, the idea of the representative claim is advanced and defended.
Focusing on the representative claim helps us to: link aesthetic and cultural
representation with political representation; grasp the importance of performance
to representation; take non-electoral representation seriously; and to underline the
contingency and contestability of all forms of representation. The article draws
upon a range of sources and ideas to sketch a new, broader and more complex
picture of the representative claim which — despite the complexity — helps us to
reconnect representation theory to pressing real-world challenges.
Contemporary Political Theory (2006) 5, 297–318. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cpt.9300234
Keywords: political representation; performance; constituency; symbolic representation;
elections; representative democracy
Distance Matters: Place, Political Legitimacy and Popular Support for European Integration
Theorists of globalization often assume that technology has eclipsed distance as a sociologically and politically significant variable. This article counters this assumption. Based on insights obtained from the literature on regionalist revival and local democracy and on experimental results on the relationship between distance and emotional involvement, we develop a series of hypotheses concerning the role of geographical distance in explaining support for the polity to which one belongs. We then test these hypotheses with Eurobarometer data relative to support for the European Union (EU). The results confirm the article's hypothesis, open new perspectives on the potential constraints faced by a geographically expanding EU, and provide insights on policies that the EU could implement to counter these constraints.
Keywords:
European integration, geography, perception, attitudes, legitimacy, space
Keywords:
European integration, geography, perception, attitudes, legitimacy, space
