Overview

Over the last 30 years referendums have played an increasingly important role in determining government policy. Recent high profile referendums in Scotland, Catalonia and Ukraine have continued the movement towards independence referendums following decolonization and the end of the Cold War. The Greek bailout referendum and Britain’s vote on membership of the EU reflect a tradition of European states giving their people a direct say in the transfer of sovereign powers to the European Union seen through the ratification of key treaties such as Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon. This Routledge Handbook covers key aspects and issues of direct democracy and referendums throughout the world including: •their history; •when, why, where, how and on which issues referendums are held; •why some referendums are more democratic than others; •how referendums are won; •whether they produce good policies; •if referendums increase participation and improve the quality of representative democracies; •do referendums increase trust in democracy and the political actors; •the impact of new technology on the possibilities, methods and frequency of direct public political participation; •how they should be regulated. Covering other related areas such as recall, citizen juries and random selection, this compendium is an indispensable guide to referendums and the workings of modern democracy.

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9780367462017

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Reviews

Referendums can dramatically validate controversial political projects (such as Brexit). But the record is very patchy and uneven, and solidly constructed democratic referendums are rare. This thorough and up to date Handbook provides indispensable guidance both to the potential benefits and to the many pitfalls . - Laurence Whitehead, Nuffield College, Oxford University. This volume brings together in one place the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask about referendums in many forms and places. A must have for serious researchers and their libraries. - Professor Richard Rose FBA, Director, Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University. of Strathclyde

Referendums can dramatically validate controversial political projects (such as Brexit). But the record is very patchy and uneven, and solidly constructed democratic referendums are rare. This thorough and up to date Handbook provides indispensable guidance both to the potential benefits and to the many pitfalls . - Laurence Whitehead, Nuffield College, Oxford University. This volume brings together in one place the answers to all the questions you ever wanted to ask about referendums in many forms and places. A must have for serious researchers and their libraries. - Professor Richard Rose FBA, Director, Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University. of Strathclyde

Author Information

Laurence Morel is Professor of Political Science at the University of Lille, France and affiliated to the Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po Paris (CEVIPOF), Francec. Matt Qvortrup is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Coventry University, UK.

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