Taking representation seriously: expertise, participation and the government of risks

Abstract

This short article aims to question some of the arguments advanced in recent democratic theory that use a certain understanding of the science-politics relation in order to advocate for participatory procedures at the expense of political representation. It critically examines the conceptual and normative assumptions of a certain framing of the legitimacy problem that is based on Science and Technology Studies (STS) findings, and offers an argument for a renewed interest in the complex yet rich normative potential of political representation.