The Concept of Constituency

The Concept of Constituency
Title The Concept of Constituency PDF eBook
Author Andrew Rehfeld
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 279
Release 2005-06-27
Genre Political Science
ISBN 1139446487

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In virtually every democratic nation in the world, political representation is defined by where citizens live. In the United States, for example, Congressional Districts are drawn every 10 years as lines on a map. Why do democratic governments define political representation this way? Are territorial electoral constituencies commensurate with basic principles of democratic legitimacy? And why might our commitments to these principles lead us to endorse a radical alternative: randomly assigning citizens to permanent, single-member electoral constituencies that each looks like the nation they collectively represent? Using the case of the founding period of the United States as an illustration, and drawing from classic sources in Western political theory, this book describes the conceptual, historical, and normative features of the electoral constituency. As an institution conceptually separate from the casting of votes, the electoral constituency is little studied. Its historical origins are often incorrectly described. And as a normative matter, the constituency is almost completely ignored. Raising these conceptual, historical and normative issues, the argument culminates with a novel thought experiment of imagining how politics might change under randomized, permanent, national electoral constituencies. By focusing on how citizens are formally defined for the purpose of political representation, The Concept of Constituency thus offers a novel approach to the central problems of political representation, democratic legitimacy, and institutional design.

Modern Syntax

Modern Syntax
Title Modern Syntax PDF eBook
Author Andrew Carnie
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 371
Release 2011-01-13
Genre Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN 1139495046

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This practical coursebook introduces all the basics of modern syntactic analysis in a simple step-by-step fashion. Each unit is constructed so that the reader discovers new ideas, formulates hypotheses and practises fundamentals. The reader is presented with short sections of explanation with examples, followed by practice exercises. Feedback and comment sections follow to enable students to monitor their progress. No previous background in syntax is assumed. Students move through all the key topics in the field including features, rules of combination and displacement, empty categories, and subcategorization. The theoretical perspective in this work is unique, drawing together the best ideas from three major syntactic frameworks (minimalism, HPSG and LFG). Students using this book will learn fundamentals in such a way that they can easily go on to pursue further study in any of these frameworks.

Constituency Influence in Congress

Constituency Influence in Congress
Title Constituency Influence in Congress PDF eBook
Author Warren E. Miller
Publisher
Pages
Release 1993-08-01
Genre
ISBN 9780829036916

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The Concept of Representation

The Concept of Representation
Title The Concept of Representation PDF eBook
Author Hanna F. Pitkin
Publisher Univ of California Press
Pages 332
Release 2023-04-28
Genre Philosophy
ISBN 0520340507

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Being concerned with representation, this book is about an idea, a concept, a word. It is primarily a conceptual analysis, not a historical study of the way in which representative government has evolved, nor yet an empirical investigation of the behavior of contemporary representatives or the expectations voters have about them. Yet, although the book is about a word, it is not about mere words, not merely about words. For the social philosopher, for the social scientist, words are not "mere"; they are the tools of his trade and a vital part of his subject matter. Since human beings are not merely political animals but also language-using animals, their behavior is shaped by their ideas. What they do and how they do it depends upon how they see themselves and their world, and this in turn depends upon the concepts through which they see. Learning what "representation" means and learning how to represent are intimately connected. But even beyond this, the social theorist sees the world through a network of concepts. Our words define and delimit our world in important ways, and this is particularly true of the world of human and social things. For a zoologist may capture a rare specimen and simply observe it; but who can capture an instance of representation (or of power, or of interest)? Such things, too, can be observed, but the observation always presupposes at least a rudimentary conception of what representation (or power, or interest) is, what counts as representation, where it leaves off and some other phenomenon begins. Questions about what representation is, or is like, are not fully separable from the question of what "representation" means. This book approaches the former questions by way of the latter. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1972. Being concerned with representation, this book is about an idea, a concept, a word. It is primarily a conceptual analysis, not a historical study of the way in which representative government has evolved, nor yet an empirical investigation of the behavior

Tyranny of the Minority

Tyranny of the Minority
Title Tyranny of the Minority PDF eBook
Author Benjamin Bishin
Publisher Temple University Press
Pages 216
Release 2009-04-28
Genre Political Science
ISBN 1592136605

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Why do special interests defeat the people's will in American politics?

Parliament the Mirror of the Nation

Parliament the Mirror of the Nation
Title Parliament the Mirror of the Nation PDF eBook
Author Gregory Conti
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 433
Release 2019-04-25
Genre History
ISBN 1108428738

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The notion of 'representative democracy' seems unquestionably familiar today, but how did the Victorians understand democracy, parliamentary representation, and diversity?

Constructivist Turn in Political Representation

Constructivist Turn in Political Representation
Title Constructivist Turn in Political Representation PDF eBook
Author Lisa Disch
Publisher Edinburgh University Press
Pages 320
Release 2019-01-22
Genre Political Science
ISBN 1474442625

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This volume traces the roots of the constructivist turn in the distinct (and competing) traditions of Continental and Anglo-American Western political thought. Divided into three thematic parts, these 13 newly commissioned essays develop the constructivist turn as a central concept. They advance the insight that there can be no democratic politics without representation; constituencies or groups exist as agents of democratic politics only insofar as they are represented.