Fault Lines of Representation: Forms of Representation In and Beyond Democracy

The discussions surrounding the current crisis of Western democracy do not concern democracy as such, but rather a specific historical form. Key elements of this historical form are in common understanding parliamentary representation and the institutions and processes that constitute it. The current debate starts from the observation that relationships between established parliamentary parties and their constituencies have lost their former binding power, and new political actors are emerging who transform the representational needs of significant segments of the population into mobilization and electoral successes.  According to a widespread concern, developments such as those in Hungary under the Orbán government suggest that these actors are paving the way for an erosion of democracy, not least by undermining the very foundations of democratic representation. It is the early symptoms of these changes – such as the uncertain balance of power in parliament, the increasing focus on the media image of individual charismatic figures, or the growing tendency for political positions to be shaped by short-term opinion polls – that are regarded as preparing a crisis of parliamentary democracy. Yet the discussion on these developments tends to overlook the fact that representation (and thus also parliamentary representation) is itself subject to change. During the conflicts over the various possibilities for establishing sustainable, just, or workable bonds between representatives and the represented, parliamentary representation has always been merely the historically conditioned outcome of a competition between different forms and practices. Corporate forms of representation for key professional groups have been a well-established alternative model, as has the involvement of civil society organisations in expert committees or the delegation of political decisions to social groups such as trade unions and employers’ associations. The workshop explores tensions between these and other forms of representation, their interrelationships and distinctions, concentrating on the period from the 19th to the 21st century. In particular, it focuses on the changes in the nature of representational relationships that have emerged from these struggles. Rather than presuming a clear distinction between democratic and non-democratic forms of representation, the workshop explores transitions and hybrid forms between parliamentary and non-parliamentary representative modes as well as between democratic and authoritarian regimes. Thereby it will interrogate the question under what conditions certain forms of representation support or compromise democratic governance. We plan to prepare a special issue featuring a selection of the papers in an interdisciplinary journal.

The workshop is part of the research hub at the Hamburg Institute for Social Research on the fault lines of democracy. Accommodation and travel expenses (second class) will be covered. We invite colleagues from the social sciences and history to submit an abstract of no more than 350 words and a brief biographical note to bruchlinien(at)his-online.de until 14 July 2026. 

Website of Hamburg Institute for Social Research (LINK)