There is a lively scholarly and public debate on the consequences of globalization for democracy. Some argue that globalization is incompatible with strong national democracy, while others believe that globalization can strengthen it. Professor Robert Thomson will gives an overview of the field of promissory representation, focusing on parties’ election campaign promises in a range of established democracies. It will cover the field’s development and expansion over the past decades, and emerging research on the impact of globalization on promissory representation.