Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy: A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes
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Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy : A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes. / el-Wakil, Alice; McKay, Spencer.
In: Representation, Vol. 56, No. 4, 2020, p. 449–466.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Disentangling Referendums and Direct Democracy
T2 - A Defence of the Systemic Approach to Popular Vote Processes
AU - el-Wakil, Alice
AU - McKay, Spencer
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - What is the relationship between referendum and initiative processes and democracy? The dominant understanding is that these popular vote processes are institutions associated with a model of direct democracy that stands in opposition to representative democracy. However, this pervasive approach is rarely justified and appears to limit the study of popular vote processes by focusing on implausible ideals, obscuring that many democratic institutions face similar challenges, and encouraging overgeneralising claims that neglect institutional variation in referendum and initiative processes. Previous criticisms of the association of popular vote processes with direct democracy have failed to clearly articulate an alternative. We trace the emergence of a democratic systems approach to popular vote processes and argue that it provides a better conceptual framework to empirically study and normatively discuss these processes.
AB - What is the relationship between referendum and initiative processes and democracy? The dominant understanding is that these popular vote processes are institutions associated with a model of direct democracy that stands in opposition to representative democracy. However, this pervasive approach is rarely justified and appears to limit the study of popular vote processes by focusing on implausible ideals, obscuring that many democratic institutions face similar challenges, and encouraging overgeneralising claims that neglect institutional variation in referendum and initiative processes. Previous criticisms of the association of popular vote processes with direct democracy have failed to clearly articulate an alternative. We trace the emergence of a democratic systems approach to popular vote processes and argue that it provides a better conceptual framework to empirically study and normatively discuss these processes.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - democratic systems
KW - representative democracy
KW - referendums
KW - political processes
KW - initiatives
U2 - 10.1080/00344893.2019.1652203
DO - 10.1080/00344893.2019.1652203
M3 - Journal article
VL - 56
SP - 449
EP - 466
JO - Representation
JF - Representation
SN - 0034-4893
IS - 4
ER -
ID: 320496981