The Concept of Constituency: Political Representation, Democratic Legitimacy, and Institutional Design

In virtually every democratic nation in the world, political representation is defined by where citizens live. In the United States, for example, Congressional Districts are drawn every 10 years as lines on a map. Why do democratic governments define political representation this way? Are territorial electoral constituencies commensurate with basic principles of democratic legitimacy? And why might our commitments to these principles lead us to endorse a radical alternative: randomly assigning citizens to permanent, single-member electoral constituencies that each looks like the nation they collectively represent? Using the case of the founding period of the United States as an illustration, and drawing from classic sources in Western political theory, this book describes the conceptual, historical, and normative features of the electoral constituency. As an institution conceptually separate from the casting of votes, the electoral constituency is little studied. Its historical origins are often incorrectly described. And as a normative matter, the constituency is almost completely ignored. Raising these conceptual, historical and normative issues, the argument culminates with a novel thought experiment of imagining how politics might change under randomized, permanent, national electoral constituencies. By focusing on how citizens are formally defined for the purpose of political representation, The Concept of Constituency thus offers a novel approach to the central problems of political representation, democratic legitimacy, and institutional design.

Table of Contents:
Part I. The Concept of Constituency and Legitimate Political Representation: 1. Introduction: constituency, legitimacy, and political representation; 2. The concept of constituency; Part II. On the Silence of the Land: Territorial Constituencies in American History: 3. Justifications and the use of history; 4. The English and Colonial origins of territorial constituencies in the United States; 5. Territorial districts at the American Founding; 6. Territorial representation as an enabler of democratic values; Part III. Standards and Reform: 7. Territory reconsidered; 8. On legitimate representation and a default position: permanent, involuntary, heterogeneous constituencies; 9. The random constituency; Epilogue: the random constituency 50 years from now.

About the Author :
Andrew Rehfeld is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St Louis where he has been teaching since 2001. He is the recipient of the University of Chicago Century Fellowship and the Mellon Foundation Dissertation-Year Fellowship. The dissertation on which this book is based was nominated for the American Political Science Association's William Anderson Award in 2002 and the APSA Leo Strauss Award (2001). He is the author of articles which have appeared in academic journals such as Studies in American Political Development and books, including the Dictionary of American History. He is a member of the American Political Science Association, Association for Political Theory, The Historical Society, and the Midwest Political Science Association, among others.

Review :
"In the current climate of complete and utter confusion, even despair, concerning the direction of redistricting practices, Rehfeld's project is important, laudable, and most welcome. His book is a much-needed attempt to develop a stock of concepts and a vocabulary sufficient to permit reasoned argument and justification in subdividing an electorate into constituencies, and he shows us both by argument and by example how to demand sound justifications for any use of territory as the basis for election districts... The book is written with exceptional clarity, engagingly advances a rich argument, and performs a valuable service by challenging us to pay careful attention to positions and arguments that, as Rehfeld persuasively shows, have not been subjected to adequate scrutiny." James A. Gardner, Election Law Journal "The Concept of Constituency is a thought-provoking and insightful book that is a must read for anyone interested in political representation, democratic legitimacy and institutional design." - Perspectives on Politics, Suzanne Dovi, University of Arizona