The Politics of Democratic Representation: Enfranchisement and Participation Revisited

The book discusses boundaries of electoral inclusion and mechanisms of electoral representation in contemporary democracies.

While the ancient Athenians took the idea of rule by the people to require direct popular participation in public decision-making and the appointment of officials by lottery mechanisms, democracy is nowadays interpreted electorally. We partake in government mostly by electing the legislative, and sometimes executive, officials who in turn make the substantive decisions...