This workshop explored cutting-edge research on how citizens understood, experienced, and evaluated political representation in contemporary democracies. Using diverse methods – from survey experiments to focus groups – the presented papers provided valuable insights into how different social groups perceived representation.

Key topics included the relationship between marginalized groups and descriptive representation, the role of group consciousness in shaping trust in democratic institutions, and the interplay between descriptive and substantive representation. Novel dimensions, such as visual communication and emotional experiences of representation, were also examined.

The research spanned multiple democratic contexts, including the US, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium, offering comparative perspectives. Special attention was given to the perspectives of women, working-class individuals, and urban youth, while also addressing broader citizen expectations and experiences of representation.

This workshop advanced our understanding of political representation from the citizen perspective, providing important insights for democratic theory and practice.

The workshop was conducted within the framework of Christopher Wratil's ERC project MULTIREP.