Draws from political science, history, political theory, economics, and anthropology to answer the most important questions about political representation.

Preface; Editors' introduction Ian Shapiro, Susan C. Stokes, Elisabeth Jean Wood and Alexander S. Kirshner; Part I. Representation before Representative Democracy: 1. Hobbes's theory of representation: anti-democratic or proto-democratic? David Runciman; 2. Participation and representation before democracy: petitions and addresses in pre-modern Britain Mark Knights; Part II. Theories of Political Representation: 3. Varieties of public representation Phillip Pettit; 4. Representative government and popular sovereignty Bryan Garsten; 5. Making interest: on representation and democratic legitimacy Clarissa Rile Hayward; Part III. Representation and Inherited Injustice: 6. Critical liberalism Courtney Jung; 7. Settlers and natives in North America Mahmood Mamdani; Part IV. What Role for Representative Quotas?: 8. Perverse consequences? The impact of quotas for women on democratisation in Africa Shireen Hassim; 9. On quotas and qualifications for office Andrew Rehfeld; Part V. Preferences, Persuasion, and Democratic Representation: 10. Electoral representation and the aristocratic thesis John Ferejohn and Frances Rosenbluth; 11. Why does the Republican party win half the votes? John E. Roemer; 12. The impact of electoral debate on public opinions: an experimental investigation of the 2005 New York City mayoral election Sendhil Mullainathan, Ebonya Washington and Julia R. Azari; 13. Swing voters, core voters and distributive politics Gary W. Cox.