Political representation is the activity of making citizens "present" in public policy-making processes when political actors act in the best interest of citizens according to Hanna Pitkin's Concept of Representation (1967). P. 57.
Views vary widely on what representing implies and on the duties of representatives. P. 28. For example, representing may imply acting on the expressed wishes of citizens, or it may alternatively imply acting according to what the representatives themselves judge is in the best interests of citizens. Under the proportional representation system and some other theories, an elected representative is held to be accountable only to the voting block that elected them, and that every substantial voting block deserves to have representation. While under winner-take-all systems such as first-past-the-post voting, the member is said to represent all the residents in the district where he was elected.
Representatives may be viewed as individuals who have been authorized to act on the behalf of others or may alternatively be viewed as being held to account by those they are representing. Political representation can happen along different units such as social groups and area, and there are different types of representation such as substantive representation and descriptive representation.
Views of political representation Under the accountability view, a representative is an individual who will be held to account. Representatives are held accountable if citizens can judge whether the representative is acting in their best interest and sanction the representative accordingly.
The descriptive and symbolic views of political representation 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.
Hanna Fenichel Pitkin argues that these views of political representation give an inadequate account of political representation because they do not mention how representatives "act for" the represented and the normative criteria that citizens use 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, 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 recent 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 what they should act for on behalf of the people they represent.
Under Andrew Rehfeld's general theory of representation, a person is considered a representative as long as the particular group they represent judges them as such. In any case of political representation, there are representatives, the represented, a selection agent, a relevant audience and rules by which the relevant judge whether a person is a representative. Representatives are those 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 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.
Units of representation
Representation by population This is the preferred (and very common) method for democratic countries, where elected representatives are chosen by similarly-sized groups of voters defined by single-member geographic districts. This is expressed commonly by the term "one person, one vote" in the US, and is commonly used to apply to equality between the many single-member districts that divide the country. The votes-to-seat ratio is commonly based on local census records of population. However even where districts are very equal in size of population, under the first-past-the-post electoral system, elected members receive wide variation of votes cast, due to varying number of voters within the population, varying voter turn-out rate, and varying percentage of votes cast that are necessary to win a plurality, from district to district."Canada 2021 federal election results by riding" https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/federal-election/2021-results/ accessed December 13, 2024
The associated shortened term "rep-by-pop" is used in Canada, where it means that each province is given the number of seats in the House of Commons that is equal to its portion of Canada's population. Where the election system used is not proportional as to parties, such as first-past-the-post voting, the House of Commons may still exhibit a degree of disproportionality as to party representation, even if each province has its fair share of seats.CBC News. "Canada votes 2021" https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2021/results/ accessed December 13, 2024
Representation by area or political unit (not population) This form of representation tends to occur as a political necessity for unifying many independent actors, such as in a federation (e.g. NATO, the UN). It is unusual (and controversial) where it exists within countries because of its violation of the 'one person, one vote' principle.
Such over-representation of voters in sparsely-settled areas may stem from a former existence as a self-identifying jurisdiction. Examples of representation by area within countries tend to be historical remnants of when the components of those countries were separate colonies or states before their unification. For example, the Constitution of the United States contains rep-by-area features due to smaller states already holding disproportionate power in the proceedings from the Articles of Confederation, in which each state, of whatever geographical size and irrespective of the size of its delegation, had one vote.
In Canada, each of the Territories is large in size geographically and each has one MP even though in each case its population size would not make them eligible for the MP. Prince Edward Island has more than expected representation in Parliament (in the Commons as well as the Senate) relative to the per capita representation rate in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, due to the historical reason that PEI was a colony equivalent constitutionally to Upper Canada and Lower Canada prior to Confederation. PEI is geographically small so its relative over-representation is not due to area, as is the case in the Territories.
Representation of a unanimous constituency
Some systems allow voters to self-sort into groups of common sentiment and for each have its own representative.
Proportional representation election systems operate that way. With no claim that a population group or a geographical area, wherein the voters have diverse opinions, must be represented by just one member, the electorate can split into unanimous constituencies that each elect a member who naturally represents that group with no pretense of representing others.Hoag and Hallett, Proportional Representation (1926), p. 7, 11, 12
Models of representation Models of representation refer to ways in which elected officials behave in representative democracies. There are three main types: delegate, trustee, and politico.
Delegate model
A delegate is someone who is elected to represent and convey the views of others. The delegate model of representation suggests that representatives have little or no capacity to exercise their own judgement or preferences. They are merely elected to be the mouthpiece of their constituency and act only the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinion. A member elected by just a portion of the voters in the district may convey the view of their supporters but is likely unable to represent the views of all in the district.
Joseph Tussman stated, "The essence of representation is the delegation or granting of authority. To authorize a representative is to grant another the right to act for oneself. Within the limits of the grant of authority one is, in fact, committing himself in advance to the decision or will of another".
Under representative government a person is elected, not just a tally mark for a particular party. Between elections, voters have little control of the behavior of the member, who might even cross the floor to a different party. This freedom may be useful though as the member works as a trustee.
Trustee model
A trustee is someone who acts on behalf of others, using his or her knowledge, experience and intelligence upon a certain field. The trustee model contrasts with the delegate model as this time constituents "entrust" their elected representatives to represent them however they see fit, with autonomy to vote and behave in the best way for their constituents.
Edmund Burke, who formulated the model, stated in a speech, "You choose a member indeed; but when you have chosen him he is not member of Bristol, but he is a member of parliament...your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgement; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your own opinion".
Politico model The politico model came about when theorists recognized that representatives rarely consistently act as just a delegate or just a trustee when representing their constituents. It is a hybrid of the two models discussed above and involves representatives acting as delegates and trustees, depending on the issue.
Other models The mandate model views representatives as less independent actors. This came about after the emergence of modern political parties; now constituents rarely vote for a representative based on their personal qualities but more broadly, they vote for their party to be elected into government. A mandate is an order or instruction from a superior body therefore this model suggests representatives follow the party line and must carry out policies outlined during election campaigns.