Transformation as Differentiation: The Diversity of Representation in the European Union

In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the theory of political representation experienced significant developments. The conventional model of democratic representation has been questioned, as various other forms of representation have been recognized by representation theory, beyond party competition and elections, and beyond national borders. There are three main theoretical developments. First, the representative relationship is not exclusively perceived as a static principal-agent relationship anymore. Second, additional actors have entered the field of political representation. Third, the representation of weak interests has increasingly attracted scholarly attention.