The Politics of Representation in the Global Age
Identification, Mobilization, and Adjudication

This book argues that interests are actively forged through processes of politics.

Peter A. Hall (Edited by), Wade Jacoby (Edited by), Jonah Levy (Edited by), Sophie Meunier (Edited by)

9781107611894, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 April 2014

259 pages, 7 b/w illus. 14 tables
22.7 x 15 x 1.5 cm, 0.36 kg

'This volume seeks to offer an alternative way of understanding the construction of political interests, one that differs from the mechanistic conceptions that dominate socioeconomic, institutional, and cultural approaches. It does so by considering how processes of globalization have reshaped interest representation. This work has the potential to influence a wide range of scholars. It showcases the value of problematizing interest representation in the global age, and every single chapter makes an empirical or theoretical contribution to a body of literature.' David Art, Tufts University

How has the process of political representation changed in the era of globalization? The representation of interests is at the heart of democracy, but how is it that some interests secure a strong voice, while others do not? While each person has multiple interests linked to different dimensions of his or her identity, much of the existing academic literature assumes that interests are given prior to politics by a person's socioeconomic, institutional, or cultural situation. This book mounts a radical challenge to this view, arguing that interests are actively forged through processes of politics. The book develops an analytic framework for understanding how representation takes place - based on processes of identification, mobilization, and adjudication - and explores how these processes have evolved over time. Through a wide variety of case studies, the chapters explore how actors identify their interests, mobilize them into action, and resolve conflicts among them.

Foreword Peter Gourevitch
1. Introduction: the politics of representation in the Global Age Peter A. Hall, Wade Jacoby, Jonah Levy and Sophie Meunier
Part I. The Politics of Interest Representation: 2. Discursive democracy and the construction of interests: lessons from the Italian pension reform Lucio Baccaro
3. Regulation released: the politics of consumer protection in postwar France Gunnar Trumbull
Part II. Responding to the Challenges of a Global Era: 4. Globalization and the politics of trade union preferences in France Marcos Ancelovici
5. Public-private institutions as social and knowledge bridges: reconfiguring the political boundaries for economic upgrading Gerald A. McDermott
6. Reorganizing interests in Latin America in the neo-liberal age Frances Hagopian
Part III. New Institutional Settings for Representation: 7. Blurring political and functional representation: sub-national territorial interests in European multi-level governance Simona Piattoni
8. Altering politics: international courts and the construction of international and domestic politics Karen Alter
9. Private regulation (and its limitations) in the global economy Richard M. Locke.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP]