The Strategic Use of Referendums

The Strategic Use of Referendums PDF Author: M. Walker
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403973776
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167

Get Book Here

Book Description
The strategic use of referendums by leaders often confers legitimacy but it may also reflect the power struggle between leaders, groups, and institutions and in doing so not provide a democratic result for the citizenry of a country.

The Strategic Use of Referendums

The Strategic Use of Referendums PDF Author: M. Walker
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403973776
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 167

Get Book Here

Book Description
The strategic use of referendums by leaders often confers legitimacy but it may also reflect the power struggle between leaders, groups, and institutions and in doing so not provide a democratic result for the citizenry of a country.

The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies

The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies PDF Author: Saskia Hollander
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030041972
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book demonstrates that the generally assumed dichotomy between referendums and representative democracy does not do justice to the great diversity of referendum types and of how referendums are used in European democracies. Although in all referendums citizens vote directly on issues rather than letting their political representatives do this for them, some referendums are more direct than others. Rather than reflecting the direct power of the People, most referendums in EU countries are held by, and serve the interests of, the political elites, most notably the executive. The book shows that these interests rarely match the justifications given in the public debate. Instead of being driven by the need to compensate for the deficiency of political parties, decision-makers use referendums primarily to protect the position of their party. In unravelling the strategic role played by national referendums in decision-making, this book makes an unconventional contribution to the debate on the impact of referendums on democracy.

Referendums and Representative Democracy

Referendums and Representative Democracy PDF Author: Maija Setälä
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135215057
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume analyses how the use of referendums affects the central functions and characteristics of representative democracy. It provides a balanced account of the interaction between referendums and representative institutions and actors, seeking to evaluate whether referendums supplement or undermine representative democracy. Considering both normative and empirical questions, the volume also examines the particular circumstances under which referendums strengthen or weaken representative democracy. Providing a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches used in the study of referendums, this book is divided into three sections: Referendums and the Models of Democracy, The Demand of Referendums: Party Ideologies and Strategies, and Referendum Campaigns and Voter Behaviour. It features case studies on Ireland, Israel, Canada, California, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the Nordic Countries, the Netherlands, Spain and the EU Constitutional Treaty. In addition to system-level evaluations of referendums, studies on the ideological attitudes of political actors and strategic use of referendums, the volume also provides analyses of referendum campaigns and voters’ choices in referendums. Covering referendums on European integration, the volume also demonstrates how supra-national governance gives rise to the demand of referendums. This volume will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, political theory, comparative politics, and European studies.

Referendum Democracy

Referendum Democracy PDF Author: M. Mendelsohn
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1403900965
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
As the referendum becomes a more regular component of decision making, it leaves few, if any, institutions, processes and values of democracy untouched. Political actors of all kinds - including political parties and interest groups - seek to use the referendum device to further their own objectives. The end result is a different kind of democracy than existed before. This book lays out the comparative research agenda on the impact of referendums on the practice of liberal democracy.

Government by Referendum

Government by Referendum PDF Author: Matt Qvortrup
Publisher: Pocket Politics
ISBN: 9781526130037
Category : Referendum
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Get Book Here

Book Description
A perfect primer for anyone interested in the politics of referendums.

Let the People Rule

Let the People Rule PDF Author: John G. Matsusaka
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691199728
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book Here

Book Description
How referendums can diffuse populist tensions by putting power back into the hands of the people Propelled by the belief that government has slipped out of the hands of ordinary citizens, a surging wave of populism is destabilizing democracies around the world. As John Matsusaka reveals in Let the People Rule, this belief is based in fact. Over the past century, while democratic governments have become more efficient, they have also become more disconnected from the people they purport to represent. The solution Matsusaka advances is familiar but surprisingly underused: direct democracy, in the form of referendums. While this might seem like a dangerous idea post-Brexit, there is a great deal of evidence that, with careful design and thoughtful implementation, referendums can help bridge the growing gulf between the government and the people. Drawing on examples from around the world, Matsusaka shows how direct democracy can bring policies back in line with the will of the people (and provide other benefits, like curbing corruption). Taking lessons from failed processes like Brexit, he also describes what issues are best suited to referendums and how they should be designed, and he tackles questions that have long vexed direct democracy: can voters be trusted to choose reasonable policies, and can minority rights survive majority decisions? The result is one of the most comprehensive examinations of direct democracy to date—coupled with concrete, nonpartisan proposals for how countries can make the most of the powerful tools that referendums offer. With a crisis of representation hobbling democracies across the globe, Let the People Rule offers important new ideas about the crucial role the referendum can play in the future of government.

Framing the European Union

Framing the European Union PDF Author: Ece Özlem Atikcan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107115175
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Get Book Here

Book Description
This accessible study explores the impact of political language and campaigning upon public opinion towards European integration.

Referendums and Ethnic Conflict

Referendums and Ethnic Conflict PDF Author: Matt Qvortrup
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 081220932X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Get Book Here

Book Description
Although referendums have been used for centuries to settle ethnonational conflicts, there has yet been no systematic study or generalized theory concerning their effectiveness. Referendums and Ethnic Conflict fills the gap with a comparative and empirical analysis of all the referendums held on ethnic and national issues from the French Revolution to the 2012 referendum on statehood for Puerto Rico. Drawing on political theory and descriptive case studies, Matt Qvortrup creates typologies of referendums that are held to endorse secession, redraw disputed borders, legitimize a policy of homogenization, or otherwise manage ethnic or national differences. He considers the circumstances that compel politicians to resort to direct democracy, such as regime change, and the conditions that might exacerbate a violent response. Qvortrup offers a clear-eyed assessment of the problems raised when conflict resolution is sought through referendum as well as the conditions that are likely to lead to peaceful outcomes. This original political framework will provide a vital resource in the ongoing investigation into how democracy and nationalism may be reconciled.

Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy

Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy PDF Author: David Altman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108496636
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

Get Book Here

Book Description
Offers a comparative study of the origins, performance, and reform of contemporary mechanisms of direct democracy.

Governing Britain

Governing Britain PDF Author: Philip Norton
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526145464
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
Who governs Britain? Is Parliament sovereign? Who chooses the Prime Minister? And who enforces the rules? The United Kingdom is in the throes of political and constitutional conflict. Tensions between different Westminster and Holyrood, and between the UK and the European Union, are part of a wider picture of constitutional flux. The United Kingdom is one of only three nations that does not have the principal provisions of the organs of state, nor is how they relate to one another and to the citizen embodied in a single document. Devolution and Brexit have given rise to calls for a codified constitution, but the debate has taken place against a background of confusion and uncertainty as to existing constitutional arrangements. We must first understand what already exists and how our constitution works today. This deeply informed and elegantly written book addresses the problems that have arisen in the context of the greatest political crisis our country has faced in decades.