The complexities of the principal-agent relationship at the core of the standard ac- count are well recognized (Pitkin 1967). The translation of votes into representation, for example, is mediated by varying electoral sys- tems with more or less exclusionary charac- teristics. Parties, interest groups, and corpo- ratist organizations set agendas, while public spheres, civil society advocacy, and the me- dia form preferences and mold public opinion, as do debate and leadership within legislative bodies themselves (Habermas 1989). In addi- tion, the principal-agent relationship between voters and representatives is notoriously diffi- cult to maintain, for numerous reasons rang- ing from information deficits to the corrup- tion of representative relationships (Bobbio 1987, Gargarella 1998).