Burke's trustee and the delegate
Burke (1774/1999) told Bristol's voters that a representative is not an ambassador bound by local instructions but owes them his judgement on behalf of the whole nation: the trustee model. The delegate model holds that representatives should follow constituents' preferences, deferring to them when views differ. Pitkin (1967) framed this as the mandate–independence controversy, concluding that good representatives respond to constituents' interests while retaining some independence. Manin (1997) shows that representative government was founded on freedom from binding instructions.
Empirical research
Interviewing US state legislators, Eulau et al. (1959) classified them as delegates, trustees or 'politicos' who switch by issue, finding trustees most common. Miller and Stokes (1963) showed that the match between district opinion and roll-call votes varies by issue, paving the way for research on substantive and dynamic representation.
Modern rethinking and critiques
Mansbridge (2003) proposed promissory, anticipatory, gyroscopic and surrogate representation. Rehfeld (2009) argued the distinction mixes three dimensions: aims, sources of judgement and responsiveness. In proportional representation systems with strong party discipline, parties rather than individual legislators are the unit of representation, making the distinction less apt.
FAQ
- What is the difference between delegates and trustees?
- Delegates follow voters' wishes; trustees use the authority voters give them to exercise their own judgement for the public good.
- What is a politico?
- A representative who acts as a delegate on some issues and as a trustee on others.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Burke, E. (1774/1999). Speech to the electors of Bristol. In Select works of Edmund Burke (Vol. 4). Liberty Fund. The founding statement of the trustee view of representation.
- Eulau, H., Wahlke, J. C., Buchanan, W., & Ferguson, L. C. (1959). The role of the representative: Some empirical observations on the theory of Edmund Burke. American Political Science Review, 53(3), 742–756. Empirical study classing legislators as delegates, trustees or politicos.
- Miller, W. E., & Stokes, D. E. (1963). Constituency influence in Congress. American Political Science Review, 57(1), 45–56. Classic study of constituency opinion and roll-call voting.
- Pitkin, H. F. (1967). The concept of representation. University of California Press. The classic analysis placing the mandate–independence debate.
- Manin, B. (1997). The principles of representative government. Cambridge University Press. Shows representative government was built on representatives' independence.
- Mansbridge, J. (2003). Rethinking representation. American Political Science Review, 97(4), 515–528. Introduces promissory, anticipatory, gyroscopic and surrogate representation.
- Rehfeld, A. (2009). Representation rethought: On trustees, delegates, and gyroscopes in the study of political representation and democracy. American Political Science Review, 103(2), 214–230. Disaggregates the trustee–delegate distinction into three dimensions.