This book starts out from the deep concern with contemporary tendencies towards depoliticisation of public issues and popular interests and makes a case for rethinking more democratic popular representation. It outlines a framework for popular representation, examines key issues and experiences and provides a policy-oriented conclusion.

GIANPAOLO BAIOCCHI Associate Professor of Sociology and International Studies at Brown University BJÖRN BECKMAN Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University LARS BUUR Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies and Research Associate at Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research NEERA CHANDHOKE Professor of Political Science and director of the Developing Countries Research Centre, University of Delhi, India JOS CHATHUKULAM Director of the Centre for Rural Management, Kottayam, Kerala, India. JOHN HARRISS Director of the School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia PATRICK HELLER Associate Professor of Sociology at Brown University PETER P. HOUTZAGER IDS Fellow and visiting scholar at the Centro Brasileiro de Analise e Planejamento (CEBRAP) in São Paulo, Brazil ADRIAN GURZA LAVALLE Fellow researcher and research director at the Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) NATHAN QUIMPO Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Tsukuba, Japan ELIN SELBOE Holds a PhD in Human Geography from the University of Oslo KRISTIAN STOKKE Professor of Human Geography at the University of Oslo P. K. MICHAEL THARAKAN Vice Chancellor of Kannur University, Kerala, India OLLE TÖRNQUIST Professor of Political Science and Development Research at the University of Oslo GERRY VAN KLINEKN Senior Researcher with the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) NEIL WEBSTER Senior Researcher and Head of the Politics and Government Research Unit at the Danish Institute for International Studies