Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale University. Susan C. Stokes is John S. Saden Professor of Political Science and Director of the Yale Program on Democracy at Yale University. Elisabeth Jean Wood is Professor of Political Science at Yale University and Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Alexander S. Kirshner is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.

• Preface; Editors' introduction Ian Shapiro, Susan C. Stokes, Elisabeth Jean Wood and Alexander S. Kirshner; Part I. Representation before Representative Democracy: 1. Hobbes's theory of representation: anti-democratic or proto-democratic? David Runciman; 2. Participation and representation before democracy: petitions and addresses in pre-modern Britain Mark Knights; Part II. Theories of Political Representation: 3. Varieties of public representation Phillip Pettit; 4. Representative government and popular sovereignty Bryan Garsten; 5. Making interest: on representation and democratic legitimacy Clarissa Rile Hayward; Part III. Representation and Inherited Injustice: 6. Critical liberalism Courtney Jung; 7. Settlers and natives in North America Mahmood Mamdani; Part IV. What Role for Representative Quotas?: 8. Perverse consequences? The impact of quotas for women on democratisation in Africa Shireen Hassim; 9. On quotas and qualifications for office Andrew Rehfeld; Part V. Preferences, Persuasion, and Democratic Representation: 10. Electoral representation and the aristocratic thesis John Ferejohn and Frances Rosenbluth; 11. Why does the Republican party win half the votes? John E. Roemer; 12. The impact of electoral debate on public opinions: an experimental investigation of the 2005 New York City mayoral election Sendhil Mullainathan, Ebonya Washington and Julia R. Azari; 13. Swing voters, core voters and distributive politics Gary W. Cox.

'Crossing boundaries of history, political thought, analytical reason, and empirical inquiry, a superb group of scholars powerfully illuminates the place of individual and group representation within modern democracies. Anyone interested in such fundamental subjects as elections and legislatures, mass opinion and elite leadership, or public deliberation and private interest, should attend this rich harvest.' Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University