Published in French 1995 and translated into English in 1997, Bernard Manin’s Principles of Representative Government stands as one of the classic works on the question of political representation. Favorably reviewed as soon as it came out, the book has since enjoyed considerable success, both in academia and beyond. Bridging historical analysis and political theorising, Manin offered a lasting contribution, which still shapes discussions of election, representation, democracy or sortition to this day. This workshop is the occasion for a critical reappraisal of the core ideas of the book, as well as a study of its reception and its impact in debates on political representation.
In-person event (Johan Huizinga Building, Leiden University), limited number of places available, please register with Felix Bosh (f.r.bosch@hum.leidenuniv.nl)
Thursday 20th
15h30 Introductory remarks - Henk te Velde (Leiden) and Hugo Bonin (Jyväskylä)
16h-18h Keynote session - Chair Antoine Chollet (Lausanne)
- Biancamaria Fontana (Lausanne) - On the Genesis of the Principles: the Invention of the Modern Republic
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Samuel Hayat (CNRS) - Manin on the Syllabus: How to Teach (with) Manin's Classic
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Josine Blok (Utrecht) - Representation in Democratic Athens: Manin’s Principles
Revisited
Friday 21st
9h-10h30 - Session 1 - History, 18th-19th century - Chair Henk te Velde
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Arthur Ghins (Bruxelles) - What was ‘Representative Government’?
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Anne Engelst Nørgaard (Trondheim) - Petitions and Representative Government
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Pasi Ihalainen (Jyväskylä) - On Parliamentary Government in the 19th Century
10h30-11h - Coffee break
11h-12h30 Session 2 - History, 19th-20th century - Chair Hugo Bonin
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Anne Heyer (Leiden) : Representation and the Rise of Political Parties
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Zoé Kergomard (Zürich) - Contested Representation. Swiss Political Parties in Post-War Election Campaigns
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Ido de Haan (Utrecht) - Post-Democratic Representation: Leaders, Experts and Brokers in an Audience Democracy
12h30-13h30 Lunch break
13h30-14h30 Session 3 - Theory - Chair Samuel Hayat (CNRS)
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Antoine Chollet (Lausanne) - Referendum and Representative Government
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Pierre Étienne Vandamme (UC Louvain) - Can Elections Be Egalitarian?
14h30-15h30 General discussion and conclusion - Henk and Hugo
16h Social drinks
Co-funded by Pasi Ihalainen’s Academy of Finland Professorship (#21000061931) and Leiden University.
