TY - JOUR
T1 - Representing Silence in Politics
AU - Brito Vieira, Monica
N1 - © The Author(s), 2020. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details.
PY - 2020/7/7
Y1 - 2020/7/7
N2 - Democratic representation focuses on voice: it conceives voice as that which is represented and as the prime mode of representing. This article argues that this focus is problematic and turns instead to silence, to ask a fundamental question: Can representation empower citizens from their silent positions? I approach the question in three parts. First, I offer a new conceptualisation of silence, arguing that silence is best understood as the site of a potential or actual presence. Second, I use criteria of domination and displaced involvement to assess attempts to enfranchise silence within the transmission-belt model of representation. Third, I critically engage and strengthen constructivist views of representation by developing these criteria to assess the legitimacy of claims to represent – speak about and for – silent constituencies, namely the claim to represent an (alleged) silent majority.
AB - Democratic representation focuses on voice: it conceives voice as that which is represented and as the prime mode of representing. This article argues that this focus is problematic and turns instead to silence, to ask a fundamental question: Can representation empower citizens from their silent positions? I approach the question in three parts. First, I offer a new conceptualisation of silence, arguing that silence is best understood as the site of a potential or actual presence. Second, I use criteria of domination and displaced involvement to assess attempts to enfranchise silence within the transmission-belt model of representation. Third, I critically engage and strengthen constructivist views of representation by developing these criteria to assess the legitimacy of claims to represent – speak about and for – silent constituencies, namely the claim to represent an (alleged) silent majority.
U2 - 10.1017/S000305542000043X
DO - 10.1017/S000305542000043X
M3 - Article
SN - 0003-0554
VL - 114
SP - 976
EP - 988
JO - American Political Science Review
JF - American Political Science Review
IS - 4
ER -
