Abstract
A prominent explanation of widespread popular support for referendums is dissatisfaction with the functioning of representative democracy. In this article, the aim is to gain a better understanding of how dissatisfaction affects support for referendums. Drawing on previous research, it is argued here that citizens follow a problem‐based approach in their support for referendums, in that referendums are considered a suitable solution to address some specific problems in a political system but not all. Survey data from the 2012 European Social Survey (29 countries; N = 37,070) is used to show that citizens’ expectations towards and evaluations of representatives relate to support for referendums. In particular, dissatisfaction with the ability of governments to listen to their citizens is associated with higher support for referendums. In contrast, citizens dissatisfied with the government's ability to lead are less supportive of referendums. Furthermore, the relationship between dissatisfaction with governments’ ability to listen varies across countries depending on the level of experience with decision making via referendum. In countries where referendums are used more often, the expectation of referendums being able to solve the problem of unresponsive government is weaker. This study offers important insights into the different ways in which preferences and evaluations of representative practices relate to popular support for referendums.
Highlights
Public opinion surveys reveal strong support for direct decision-making by citizens (ISSP 2014; ESS 2012)
Drawing on Warren (2017) we argue that citizens follow a problem-based approach in their support for referendums, in that referendums are considered a suitable solution to address some specific problems in a political system but not all
It is well known that people who are dissatisfied with representative democracy are more supportive of direct democratic practices such as referendums
Summary
Public opinion surveys reveal strong support for direct decision-making by citizens (ISSP 2014; ESS 2012). There can be different problems with representative democracy and citizens see referendums as a potential solution to some of them, though not all We illustrate how this approach plays out by focusing on how preferences for and evaluations of representative practices relate to support for direct decision-making via referendums. To this end, we connect to the literature on representation and draw on the well-known distinction between delegate and trustee representation. We investigate whether the relationship between dissatisfaction with the listening function of government and support for referendums varies across countries depending on the level of experience a country has with referendums as a decision-making tool. It could well be that referendums are considered more or less suitable to tackle the problem of unresponsive government depending on whether and to what extent a society has experienced referendums in practice
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