Democratic representation of dependent claim makers

Despite its focus on politically underrepresented groups, the representation literature has excluded persons (e.g., those with cognitive disabilities and severe somatic diseases) who temporarily or permanently cannot make political claims and represent themselves independently. I conceptualize these persons as dependent claim makers and argue that their inclusion in the literature is vital for understanding how citizens can have their interests attended to in all phases and variations of life. I propose and specify a theoretical framework for understanding dependent claim makers’ (lack of) substantive democratic representation, focusing on public policymaking processes. Building on unique interviews with civil servants and a minister in charge of creating a new governmental policy on the human rights of persons with intellectual disabilities in Norway and my own participation in this process, I suggest how representation can take place by emphasizing policymakers’ identification with the underrepresented group and knowledge on group-specific operationalizations of general policy goals, and by implementing mandatory accountability mechanisms.