Informal political representation—the phenomenon of speaking or acting on behalf of others although one has not been elected or selected to do so by means of a systematized election or selection procedure—plays a crucial role in advancing the interests of groups. Sometimes, those who emerge as informal political representatives (IPRs) do so willingly (voluntary representatives). But, often, people end up being IPRs, either in their private lives or in more public political forums, over their own protests (unwilling representatives) or even without their knowledge (unwitting representatives)—that is, they are conscripted. None of the few theories of informal political representation extant accommodate conscripted IPRs. The account detailed here introduces the phenomenon of conscripted informal political representation and explains its place in a complete theory of informal political representation. Conscripted IPRs can, like their voluntary counterparts, come to have significant power to influence how various audiences regard those for whom the conscripted IPRs speak or act. Upon attaining such power to influence, conscripted IPRs, like their voluntary counterparts, come to have pro tanto duties to those they represent—duties that arise despite IPRs’ unwittingness or unwillingness. Understanding the phenomenon of conscripted informal political representation allows us to surface essential normative questions about informal political representation that are otherwise occluded.

Informal political representation—the phenomenon of speaking or acting on behalf of others although one has not been elected or selected to do so by means of a systematized election or selection procedure—plays a crucial role in advancing the interests of groups. 有时，那些作为非正式政治代表 (IPR) 出现的人是自愿这样做的（自愿代表）。但是，人们往往最终成为知识产权人，无论是在他们的私人生活中，还是在更多的公共政治论坛上，他们自己的抗议（不情愿的代表），甚至在他们不知情的情况下（不知情的代表）)——也就是说，他们被征召入伍。现存的为数不多的非正式政治代表理论都没有适应征召的知识产权。这里详述的叙述介绍了征募非正式政治代表的现象并解释了它在非正式政治代表的完整理论中的地位。被征召的知识产权人可以像他们的自愿同行一样，拥有重要的权力来影响不同的受众如何看待被征召的知识产权人所代表的人说话或行事。在获得这种影响力后，被征召的知识产权人，就像他们的自愿同行一样，对他们所代表的人承担了直接的责任——尽管知识产权人不知情或不愿意，这些责任还是会出现。理解征召非正式政治代表的现象使我们能够揭示关于非正式政治代表的基本规范问题，否则这些问题就会被掩盖。