Traditional interpretations of democracy that focus either on the external preconditions for democracy or on institutional designs for its successful operation tend to take democracy for granted more or less. Törnquist (2002) on the other hand, contends that the best way to understand democracy is to examine public control of democratic institutions and processes, or the absence of it. Every discussion of democracy should therefore centre on representational practises since the question of public oversight of democratic processes is inextricably linked to the issue of representation. The argument tends to imply that the level and scope of democracy in a particular society are heavily dependent on the creation of institutions.