Introduction

This is a study of representation and the role that it plays in a Third World democracy. It explores the nature of the relationship between legislators and their constituents in the South Asian democracy of Sri Lanka. ¹ Research to date on representation has not led to a clear and concise understanding of what representation is. In fact, one scholar has described representation as "an ill-defined concept that has acquired conflicting meanings through long use" (Lowenberg, 1972:12). Another, Heinz Eulau (1978:32), has stated that "there is a crisis in the theory of representation." He added that "our colleagues in the field of comparative politics do not deal with it in the familiar terms because they do not find our inherited formulations of representation particularly germane to the real-world problems with which the new nation builders must deal" (Eulau, 1978:32). ²