Referendum: A Complement or a Threat to Representative Democracy?

Autor:	Cirila Toplak
Rok vydání:	2013
Předmět:	Representative democracy Political economy Political science Law Political Science and International Relations Political history Referendum Direct democracy Complement (complexity)
Zdroj:	World Political Science. 9:197-218
ISSN:	2363-4782 2363-4774
DOI:	10.1515/wpsr-2013-0009
Popis:	Referendum, the instrument which allows the citizens to directly decide on important public issues, is the original form of democratic decision-making procedure. It may be perceived as a welcome and necessary complement to representative democracy, especially in the current crisis of confidence in political institutions and parties. However, leaving the decisions to citizens may also cast doubt on the ability and credibility of the elected representatives; the referenda may become a public vote of confidence or distrust in the initiator(s). This article considers the implementation of the referendum in history, as well as the conception of it in political theory and political practice, and implementation of the referendum in (post-Communist) Central Europe. To this end, a comparative analysis of six Central European representative democracies is presented, from the perspective of past national experience with direct democracy, and related national issues and regulatory solutions.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::3dee2fbe3dc7e39f8bf488784330ac82 https://doi.org/10.1515/wpsr-2013-0009 Zobrazit plný text záznamu