The crisis of democracy is in part—or perhaps above all—a crisis of representation. Established channels are losing legitimacy: major parties are shrinking, nonvoters often constitute the largest bloc, and institutions appear sluggish in responding to climate change, geopolitical power shifts, and displacement and migration. At the same time, social movements and members of civil-society are demanding new and different modes of representation. Against this backdrop, the dissertation proposes a change of perspective. The debate is unduly narrow if it limits itself to an election-centered conception of representation that came about roughly 200 years ago for less complex societies. Thus, the research question is: How can democratic forms of representation beyond the election-centered model be theorized, normatively evaluated, and culturally situated?

Anna Weithaler studied philosophy (BA, MA) at the University of Innsbruck and music and instrumental music education (BEd, MEd) at Mozarteum University, Innsbruck campus. She was a predoctoral university assistant in Political Theory in the Department of Political Science, University of Vienna. Previously, she was a fellow of the doctoral college Dynamics of Inequality and Difference in the Age of Globalization within the research area Cultural Encounters – Cultural Conflicts at the University of Innsbruck, an early-career researcher at the Euregio Platform on Human Dignity and Human Rights (EUPHUR) of the Academy Merano (Italy), and held pursued research at the University of Helsinki and at the Center for Advanced Studies, Eurac Research (Bolzano, Italy). Her work focuses on political theory and intellectual history, particularly theories of democracy and debates on political representation.