Democracy at the Crossroads – Challenges for Governance and Representation: Essays in Honour of Thomas Saalfeld for Governance and Representation

This book examines the complex challenges confronting modern democratic systems. Amid rising political fragmentation, polarisation, societal diversity, democratic backsliding, technological advances, economic stagnation, and environmental crises, it explores the nuances of democratic governance and how representative institutions can strengthen their resilience. It provides new insights into traditional models of democratic delegation through a series of studies on how legislative bodies function and interact with the executive, especially during government formation. Later chapters focus on minority representation, analysing conditions that promote political inclusion for women, migrants, and LGBT individuals, particularly in legislative institutions. The final section discusses the radical right’s growth and addresses how political systems confront environmental issues, connecting themes of representation and sustainability. This book honours Thomas Saalfeld, a prominent scholar in legislative politics, government formation, and minority representation.

This volume is highly relevant for scholars and students interested in comparative politics, political representation, legislative behaviour, and European politics more broadly.

Jorge M. Fernandes is a Ramon y Cajal Fellow at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies, CSIC, Madrid. He holds a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute (2013). After graduation, Jorge moved to Bamberg, where he worked under the unabridged mentorship of Thomas Saalfeld. In 2017, Jorge took a position as Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon. His research interests include representation, electoral systems, political parties, legislatures, and coalitions. His work has appeared in journals such as Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, European Journal of Political Research, Journal of European Public Policy, and Legislative Studies Quarterly, among many others. He is the co-editor of The Politics of Legislative Debates (Oxford University Press, 2021) and The Oxford Handbook of Portuguese Politics (Oxford University Press, 2023). He has held visiting positions at UC San Diego, Center for European Studies, Harvard University, and Robert Schuman Centre (EUI). From 2025, Jorge is the PI of the ERC Consolidator Grant "SEE: Representation in Proportional Electoral Systems.

Javier Martínez-Cantó is a Cesar Nombela Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Goods and Policies, CSIC, Madrid. He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Bamberg (2021), which he developed under the outstanding supervision of Thomas Saalfeld. He has also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz, IBEI, and the University of Salamanca. During the 2023–2024 academic year, Javier was the inaugural Ramon Arences Fellow at Harvard University’s Center for European Studies. His research interests include political parties, legislative behaviour, political representation, political competition, and federalism. His work has appeared in journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Journal of European Public Policy, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Party Politics, among many others. He has held short-term visiting positions at Princeton University (2018) and the University of Vienna (2022).