Rethinking Popular Representation

"This innovative, insightful exploration of democratic political representation helps clarify why democracy has stagnated in many parts of the developing world and what can be done to revitalize it. The editors have assembled a top-notch cross-regional group of experts andorganized the work around a lucid analytic framework of utility to aid practitioners, civic activists, and scholars." - Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

"Despite waves of democratic upsurge, why does popular representation need re-thinking? Because states are commodified and captured, stripped of democratic politics, and because representation is fractured and 'un-popular.' This book examines how democratic representation can be scaled up. It is a uniquely valuable addition to our understanding of democratic governance." - Barbara Harriss-White, Professor, Department of International Development, Oxford University

"A deeply engaged, engaging, and diverse volume for all of us interested in reducing the democratic deficit in poor countries." - Mick Moore, Professor, Institute of Development Studies

"This is a very significant and high-quality contribution to some pressing debates around the politics of development and democratization in the post-colonial world. These include the important challenges involved in securing not only the inclusion but also the influence of marginal and poor peoples in key decision-making processes that shape their lives, and of the deeper processes of state and citizenship formation that shape these possibilities." - Samuel Hickey, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester