Marina Martinez Mateo discusses classical theories of political representation from Hobbes to Mill based on the following thesis: Representation constitutes a fundamental yet paradoxical figure in the justification of state sovereignty. The 'people' that is represented must first be formed and simultaneously assumed and depicted as pre-existing. However, within this paradox lies the political productivity of representation. Due to its crisis-ridden structure, representation becomes a tool for critique: both of the state it justifies and of the people it represents. Thus, the investigation culminates in a defense of a politics of representation against institutionalized forms of political representation.