The Institutional Design of Referendums: Bottom-Up and Binding

Francis Cheneval, Alice el-Wakil

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningpeer review

49 Citationer (Scopus)

Abstract

Democratic theorists generally ignore that the institutional design of popular vote processes varies in important ways. However, these differences in design influence the kind of role that these processes play in and their impact on democratic systems. We intend to remedy this situation by launching a normative discussion about the institutional design of popular vote processes in the Debate “Do Referendums Enhance or Threaten Democracy?” In this introductory essay, we first insist on the necessity to adopt a differentiated conception of popular vote processes. We then highlight some aspects of our normative approach to the institutional design of popular vote processes. We finally argue that referendum processes can positively contribute to democratic systems when they are 1) launched bottom‐up and 2) legally binding.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftSwiss Political Science Review
Vol/bind24
Udgave nummer3
Sider (fra-til)294–304
ISSN1424-7755
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2018

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