Referendums Around the World: The Continued Growth of Direct Democracy

319 Pages·2014·1.44 MB·English

by  Matt Qvortrup (eds.)

Referendums Around the World
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Referendums Around
the World
The Continued Growth of Direct
Democracy
Editedby
Matt Qvortrup
DepartmentofManagementandSecurity,CranfieldUniversity,UK
Selection,introductionandeditorialmatter©MattQvortrup2014
Individualchapters©Respectiveauthors2014
Foreword©DavidButler2014
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-0-230-36175-1
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Contents
ListofTablesandFigures vii
Foreword ix
Acknowledgements x
NotesonContributors xi
Introduction:Theory,PracticeandHistory 1
MattQvortrup
1 ReferendumsinRussia,theFormerSovietUnionand
EasternEurope 17
RonaldJ.HillandStephenWhite
2 ReferendumsinWesternEurope 43
MattQvortrup
3 ReferendumsinSwitzerland 65
UweSerdült
4 ReferendumsandInitiativesinNorthAmerica 122
ToddDonovan
5 DirectDemocracyinLatinAmerica 162
DavidAltman
6 ReferendumsinAfrica 186
NorbertKersting
7 ReferendumsinAsia 207
MasahiroKobori
8 ReferendumsinOceania 218
CarolineMorris
9 Conclusion 246
MattQvortrup
v
vi Contents
AppendixA:ReferendumsAroundtheWorld 252
DavidAltman,ToddDonovan,RonHill,NorbertKersting,Caroline
Morris,StephenWhiteandMattQvortrup
AppendixB:ReferendumsonDevolutionandSelf-Governmentin
SubordinateTerritories 300
MattQvortrup
Index 302
Tables and Figures
Tables
I.1 ReferendumsinFrance,1800–1852 9
I.2 ReferendumsintheThirdReich 10
2.1 NumberofreferendumsandinitiativesinWest
Europeancountries 45
2.2 Existingprovisionsforreferendumsanddirect
democracyinWesternEurope 46
2.3 Regressionmodel:Occurrenceofreferendums
andinitiatives 52
2.4 Pearson’scorrelationsbetweentypesofreferendumsand
policyoutcomes 59
3.1 Nationalreferendumfrequenciesbydecadeandtypeof
legalinstrument 79
3.2 Cumulativeparticipationforsevenconsecutive
referendumvotesinthecityofStGallen(%) 82
3.3 Bottom-upvotesbyinitiatorsandhistoricalperiods,
withsuccessrates(1874–2010) 85
3.4 Submittedandwithdrawninitiativesforapartial
revisionoftheConstitutionbydecade,1891–2010 87
3A.1 Swissreferendumvotes,1848–2012 94
4.1 Numberofstatepopularreferendumsandinitiatives
intheUS 129
4.2 Numberoffederalandprovincialreferendumsin
Canada,1878–2012 133
4.3 SubstanceofreferendumsinCanada,1878–2012 133
4.4 Frequencyofstate-wideballotmeasuresintheUS,
2000–2012 137
4.5 NumberofpopularinitiativesintheUS,andpercent
approved,bydecade 138
4.6 SubstanceofpopularinitiativesintheUS,1910–1919
and2000–2009 140
4.7 SpendingonAmericanballotmeasures,2004–2012 142
4.8 MajordonorstoCaliforniainitiativecampaigns,2012 146
4.9 America’swealthiestinitiativedonors 148
5.1 Overviewoflegal/constitutionalprovisions 170
vii
viii ListofTablesandFigures
5.2 UsesofMDDinLatinAmerica 174
7.1 ConstitutionalprovisionsforreferendumsinAsia 209
7.2 StatisticalpredictorsofreferendumsinAsia 212
Figures
3.1 AverageturnoutforSwissnationalreferendumvotesper
year(greybars)andten-yearmovingaverage(dashed
line),1879–2012 81
5.1 Typology 164
5.2 MDDgrowth 172
5.3 IntensityofuseofMDDsinLatinAmericasince1978 173
5.4 MDDtopicsinLatinAmericasince1978 177
5.5 Unpackingbasicservices 178
9.1 Theuseofreferendumsworldwide,1900–2010 247
Foreword
Referendumsareuniversal.OfthemajordemocraciesonlytheUS,India,
Japan and Israel have never experienced one at the nationwide level,
and the US, of course, has had thousands in individual states. The
referendumshavevariedenormouslyinpurpose,conductandoutcome.
When Austin Ranney and I compiled works on the subject in 1978
and1994,wewereclearthatthemostinterestingelementineachvol-
ume was the list of every nationwide referendum that we could trace
inthewholehistoryoftheworld.Thelistcontainedonlythedate,the
subject, the ‘Yes’ percentage and the turnout. What astonished us was
thediversityofnationalexperience.Asweandourco-authorsshowed,
foreverygeneralizationaboutreferendumsthereisacounter-example.
In the last two decades there has been increasing recourse to
referendums in many parts of the world, largely to legitimize consti-
tutional change. In the UK the politics of avoiding a referendum on
Europehasbeenasimportantasthefrequentuseofreferendumsatthe
regional or local government level. The European issue led the Dutch
toholdtheirfirsteverreferendum,andtheItaliansturnedreferendums
fromanoccasionaldevicetoafrequenthabit.Theinternationalbodies
thathaveturnedelectionwatchingintoaprofessionhavefoundincreas-
ing demands for their services all across the world. And, despite the
uniquecircumstancesofsomanyreferendums,themerenumberjusti-
fiesmoreelaborateclassificationsandgenerallessonsthanwaspossible
30yearsago.Thisnewworkisoverdue.
DavidButler,
NuffieldCollege
ix