Who May Represent a Nation in Upheaval? The Concept of Representation during the Polish November Uprising, 1830–1831.

This article examines the transformation of political representation during the Polish November Uprising of 1830–31, focusing on the debates within the Polish Sejm (parliament) amid warfare and limited sovereignty under Russian imperial rule. It highlights how the Sejm navigated tensions between traditional imperative mandates tied to regional constituencies and emerging ideas of non-descriptive, free mandates representing the nation as a whole, while grappling with questions of legitimacy, national identity, and social inclusion, particularly regarding peasants and land reform. The study situates these developments within broader European constitutional and revolutionary contexts, noting the influence of transnational models such as France, Belgium, and England. Ultimately, the uprising marked a critical, though understudied, threshold for modern parliamentarism in Poland, blending endogenous political traditions with contemporary European shifts toward representative government despite the subsequent dissolution of the Sejm and loss of Polish autonomy.