Representative claims analysis: theory meets method

This contribution presents a detailed methodological discussion on the empirical study of political representation. It confronts Saward's conceptualization of the representative claim with the method of claims analysis, developed by Koopmans and Statham. Drawing on Saward, the contribution emphasizes the theoretical need to study the act of representation in the form of claims through which connections between representatives and represented are made. Drawing on Koopmans and Statham, the contribution stresses an empirical focus on public spheres in which claims are located. While theory of representation so far remains overly complex in light of the reality of representation in the public sphere, the empirical analysis of claims ignores theoretically important aspects of representation. The theoretically informed and empirically viable methodological approach of representative claims analysis (RCA) is therefore proposed to facilitate future inquiry.