2025, Vol. 7, Issue 12, Part B

Author(s): Anita Agarwal

Abstract: Contemporary democracies often pride themselves on electoral cycles, voter participation, and representative institutions. Yet, ballots do not automatically translate into power, justice, or meaningful participation. The gap between voting and governing between being counted and being heard remains democracy’s deepest paradox. This paper explores the idea of empowered representation, which moves beyond numerical inclusion and elections to focus on voice, agency, accountability, and substantive transformation. Drawing upon political theory (Pitkin, Habermas, Young), democratic governance practice, and empirical experiences in India and other global contexts, this study argues that empowered representation requires institutional redesign, active citizenship, deliberative cultures, social movements, digital participation, and feminist intersectional frameworks. It examines limits of ballot-based representation, critiques symbolic and tokenistic inclusion, and highlights pathways where representation becomes meaningful—participatory budgeting, decentralization, gendered leadership, civil society agency, and accountability architectures. Ultimately, this paper proposes a re-imagined model of representative democracy that co-produces power with people rather than merely awarding it through elections.

DOI: 10.33545/26646021.2025.v7.i12b.779

Pages: 111-114 | Views: 28 | Downloads: 3

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