Resumen

CASAS, Ernesto. Representación política y participación ciudadana en las democracias. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2009, vol.51, n.205, pp.59-76. ISSN 0185-1918.

This essay revolves around the theme of political representation and the mechanisms for citizen participation in today's democracies. The controversy between mandate and independence of the representatives in respect to the voters is analyzed and it evaluates the impact of the non electoral participation in the representation of interests, the solution of conflicts and legitimacy of the political representatives.

Palabras llave : democracia; representación política; participación ciudadana; legitimidad.