<p>This article develops a constructivist theory of meta-representation. It proceeds in three parts. First, I introduce the concept, the meta-representative claim, differentiating meta-representative claims from merely representative ones. Second, I consider the general effects of meta-representative claims. I draw on both historical and sociological institutionalism as well as Gadamerian hermeneutics to argue that meta-representative claims help to construct the horizons of representation from which individual representative claims are drawn. Finally, third, I posit two types of meta-representative claims: dualistic and multipolar and provide a cautious defense of the latter. I argue that discourses which present issues as having <i>only</i> two sides silence interpretive diversity and reify under-representative publics. The long-term result is not merely that ideational and perspectival pluralism is reduced but also a sedimentation of conservative public spheres.</p>