Substantive representation

In the common view, political representation is assumed to refer only to the political activities undertaken, in representative democracies, by citizens elected to political office on behalf of their fellow citizens who do not hold political office. However, the lack of consensus in the political literature on political representation belies this common view. Theorists of representation differ not only in their definition of representation but also, among other things, on what the duties of a representative are, who can be called representative and how one becomes a representative. In her seminal work on political representation (The Concept of Representation), Hanna Pitkin defined political representation as, 'a way to make present again' and identified four views of political representation which, since her book's publication, have shaped contemporary debates on political representation. Recently, Jane Mansbridge has identified four other views of specifically democratic political representation which, although they are distinct, share some similarities with Pitkin's. On the other hand, Andrew Rehfeld has critiqued the failure of theorists like Pitkin and Mansbridge to articulate a purely descriptive view of political representation and has proposed a general theory of representation that recognizes that political representation can be and often is undemocratic.It ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitting attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiased opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion. In the common view, political representation is assumed to refer only to the political activities undertaken, in representative democracies, by citizens elected to political office on behalf of their fellow citizens who do not hold political office. However, the lack of consensus in the political literature on political representation belies this common view. Theorists of representation differ not only in their definition of representation but also, among other things, on what the duties of a representative are, who can be called representative and how one becomes a representative. In her seminal work on political representation (The Concept of Representation), Hanna Pitkin defined political representation as, 'a way to make present again' and identified four views of political representation which, since her book's publication, have shaped contemporary debates on political representation. Recently, Jane Mansbridge has identified four other views of specifically democratic political representation which, although they are distinct, share some similarities with Pitkin's. On the other hand, Andrew Rehfeld has critiqued the failure of theorists like Pitkin and Mansbridge to articulate a purely descriptive view of political representation and has proposed a general theory of representation that recognizes that political representation can be and often is undemocratic. In The Concept of Representation, Pitkin identifies four distinct views of political representation that emerge in the political literature on the subject: Formalistic views of representation identify political representation with the formal procedures (e.g. elections) used in the selection of representatives. Pitkin distinguishes two formalistic views on political representation - the authorization and accountability views. Under the authorization view, a representative is an individual who has been authorized to act on the behalf of another or a group of others. Theorists who take the accountability view argue that a representative is an individual who will be held to account. Generally, the authorization and accountability views of political representation are discussed, separately or in combination, in the context of representative government. The descriptive and symbolic views of political representation according to Pitkin describe the ways in which political representatives 'stand for' the people they represent. Descriptive representatives 'stand for' to the extent that they resemble, in their descriptive characteristics (e.g. race, gender, class etc.), the people they represent. On the other hand, Symbolic representatives 'stand for' the people they represent as long as those people believe in or accept them as their representative. Pitkin argues that these views of political representation give an inadequate account of political representation because they lack an account both of how representatives 'act for' the represented and the normative criteria for judging representative's actions. Hence Pitkin proposes a substantive view of representation. In this view of political representation, representation is defined as substantive 'acting for', by representatives, the interests of the people they represent. In contrast, in her article, Rethinking Representation, Jane Mansbridge has identified four views of democratic political representation: promissory, anticipatory, surrogate and gyroscopic. Mansbridge argues that each of these views provides an account of both how democratic political representatives 'act for' the people they represent and the normative criteria for assessing the actions of representatives. Promissory representation is a form of representation in which representatives are chosen and assessed based on the promises they make to the people they represent during election campaigns. For Mansbridge, promissory representation, preoccupied with how representatives are chosen (authorized) and held to account through elections, is the traditional view of democratic political representation. Anticipatory, surrogate and gyroscopic representation, on the other hand, are more modern views that have emerged from the work of empirical political scientists. Anticipatory representatives take actions that they believe voters (the represented) will reward in the next election. Surrogate representation occurs when representatives 'act for' the interest of people outside their constituencies. Finally, in gyroscopic representation, representatives use their own judgements to determine how and for what they should act for on behalf of the people they represent. Invoking the growing importance of undemocratic but representative international bodies like the European Union and the failure of extant theories of political representation to account for such undemocratic representation, Andrew Rehfeld has proposed a General Theory of Representation. Under Rehfeld's general theory of representation, a person is considered a representative as long as the particular group she represents judges her as such. Rehfeld argues that his general theory of representation, unlike Pitkin and Mansbridge's, only seeks to describe what political representatives are, not what they should be or do. Hence under Rehfeld's theory, it does not matter to the status of representatives whether or not they are democratically elected or substantively 'act for' the interests of the represented. This is not to say that Rehfeld argues that democratic political representatives can be representatives without being elected or be said to represent the represented without substantively acting for their interests, they do. Rather, Rehfeld only seeks to point out that political representation is not limited to the democratic case. Rehfeld's theory is as follows: in any case of political representation, there are representatives (formally a set), the represented, a selection agent, a relevant audience and rules by which the relevant judge whether or not a person is a representative. Formally, representatives are a set who are selected by a selection agent from a larger set of qualified individuals who are then judged to representatives by a relevant audience using particular rules of judgement. The rules by which a relevant audience judges whether or not a person is a representative can be either democratic or non-democratic. In a case where the selection agent , relevant audience and the represented are the same and the rules of judgment are democratic (e.g. elections), the familiar democratic case of political representation arises and where they are not, undemocratic cases arise. Irish politician Edmund Burke in his 1774 Speech to the Electors at Bristol at the Conclusion of the Poll was noted for his articulation of the principles of representation against the notion that elected officials should be delegates who exactly mirror the opinions of the electorate: