ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the contingent ways in which democracy and representation are bound up in one another and in relations of power/knowledge. Liberal democracy relies upon the right to freedom of speech and freedom of association alongside elections, so that freely choosing individuals can test out their opinions in the public sphere, and worse options, ideas and beliefs can be discarded in favour of better ones. The chapter also shows that how democracy functions as a useful set of practices that enable governmental rule. It aims to discussing Foucault's ideas about governmentality as they relate to democratic institutions in the abstract, and then relate this understanding to the micro-practices of Democracy Promotion. The role of the press is characterised in the Democracy Promotion literature as representing sets of identities and interests that exist prior to and can therefore be reflected transparently by the media.
