Representation through affective Correspondence:The force of feelings and their consequences for representative democracy

Abstract

This article introduces conceptual tools to understand the affective dimensions of representation, presenting ‘affective correspondence’ as an evaluative measure. The way a representative is affected by and affects others, in ways similar to those they represent, is critical to the possibility for descriptive/symbolic representation to achieve substantive representation. When this ‘affective alignment’ cannot be achieved, ‘affective receptivity’—that is an openness to being moved and affected by one's constituents—can enhance responsiveness to underrepresented groups. I argue that representatives belonging to dominant groups—in Australia white, middle-class, cis men—are less likely to achieve affective receptivity when compared with representatives who are positioned within intersecting structures of discrimination and disadvantage. The article hence underscores the necessity of a political class that reflects the broader population it serves (by gender, race, class, (dis)ability, sexuality and so on), and highlights the dangers of overrepresentation by privileged minorities.