ABSTRACT

This volume has sought to broaden the discussion about representation and effectiveness by looking below the regime level, at the legislature, the judiciary and civil society, while drawing on cases from four key Latin American countries. The analyses presented wrestle, explicitly and implicitly, with some of the central questions of democratic representation: legitimacy, accountability, responsiveness and effectiveness. They also advance the discussion of how government structure impinges upon representation. This section briefly reviews these aspects, bringing the volume to a close. It also assesses the picture that emerges of the state of representation and effectiveness in the countries analyzed.