Non-Electoral Political Representation: Expanding Discursive Domains

This article investigates the problem of legitimacy of non-electoral representation, and attempts to highlight the discursive dynamics in such a process. I argue that various forms of non-electoral representation overlap and may conflict with each other throughout society, but it is mainly in the representative claimants' discursive interaction that the generation of legitimacy should be sought. I contend that conceiving representation from a system-wide perspective, with attention to the multiple actors, sites and means to communication and deliberation, can sharpen our perception of a dynamic capacity for self-correction of representative claims.