Direct Democracy Research Articles

The Static and Dynamic Effects of Political Distrust on Support for Representative Democracy and its Rivals

AbstractDistrust is widely argued to stimulate support for political and institutional change. Yet, there is little agreement among scholars whether distrust pulls people towards rivaling decision-making models such as direct democracy, technocracy, and authoritarianism. This paper argues that political distrust is an unconditional push-factor away from the status quo (i.e., representative democracy), but that the appeal of any specific alternative decision-making models among distrusters is conditional on their political dispositions. This paper systematically tests rivaling theories on the micro-level relationship between political distrust and support for change, representative democracy, and alternative decision-making models. Crucially, we test to what extent the pull-factor of rivaling models is conditional on citizens’ political efficacy and populist leaning. Moreover, we separate the effects of structurally low trust from that of dynamically declining trust by estimating Random Effects Within Between (REWB) models on three-wave panel survey data across four European countries (the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Portugal). Our findings confirm that distrust unconditionally pushes people away from the status quo, but does not unconditionally pull people towards any alternative model. Rather than technocracy (mixed effects) and authoritarianism (predominantly negative effects), we find that political distrust particularly stimulates support for direct democracy. This positive effect of political distrust on support for direct democracy is particularly strong among efficacious citizens and supporters of populist parties. This aligns with the idea of dissatisfied democrats, whose distrust drives their ambition for more direct influence.

Teachers’ unions, educator organising, and global struggles for educational justice

ABSTRACT In this introductory article we present nine themes that cut through the twenty-one articles in the Special Issue. First, we highlight the continued impact of neoliberalism, austerity, and the casualization of teacher labor on educators and educator organising. Second, we look at how state context shapes teacher unionism, including in authoritarian political regimes. The third section examines how teachers' unions have chosen to relate to the state. The fourth section is on the organising strategies that unions have embraced, including the increased use of social media during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fifth section is about how and when teacher organising has influenced education policy. The sixth section focuses on educators' disappointment with their unions. The seventh section examines the demands for direct and participatory democracy in unions. The eighth section is about the pedagogical alternatives developed by teachers' unions and the need for centering educational alternatives within teacher union movements. Finally, our ninth section reflects on how teachers' unions can play a larger role in academic knowledge production and the role of researchers who study teachers' unions but are also invested in making them stronger, more democratic, and more just.

A Comparison of Shura and Deliberative Democracy Decision-Making Methods: Similarities and Differences

Shura is a decision-making model in Islamic governance that aims to make the right decisions for society in general and inclusively. While Allah has established the general framework for various issues, particularly administrative matters, the specific details are left to human discretion, to be determined through Shura and consultation. The significance of Shura is underscored in verse 38 of Surah Ash-Shura, where it is mentioned alongside fundamental Islamic principles such as prayer and zakat. Conversely, the democratic management model, a human construct, has evolved since ancient Greece, undergoing transformations resulting in diverse forms such as direct, representative, liberal, social, radical, dialogic, agonistic, and deliberative democracy. This study aims to compare the principles of Islamic governance with those of deliberative democracy. By analyzing their similarities and differences, this research seeks to evaluate the compatibility of these two governance frameworks. The findings provide insights into their potential alignment or divergence, contributing to a broader understanding of decision-making practices in diverse cultural and philosophical contexts.

LEGITIMITY OF POLITICAL DECISIONS: THE ROLE OF THE REFERENDUM IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

The popular vote in Romania has a history that spans several decades in various political and social contexts. Starting from the initial forms of consultation of the population known as the plebiscite, at present, as a result of social and political evolution and transformations, we find the referendum regulated at constitutional level. The referendum is an important tool in the democratic process to allow citizens to speak directly on key issues affecting society. Through the referendum, citizens have the opportunity to participate actively in political decision-making, thereby strengthening the principles of the democratic state. This form of direct democracy gives citizens the opportunity to vote on specific issues such as revision of the constitution, impeachment of the president, adoption of important laws or topics of public interest. The role of the referendum is also to legitimize political decisions and to evaluate the mandates of elected representatives, which can lead to public debates that stimulate citizens' information and promote a better understanding of the problems faced by society. Referenda are therefore not only a voting tool, but also a means of civic education and strengthening social cohesion, with the potential to strengthen democracy and create a sense of belonging and responsibility among citizens. The Constitutional Court of Romania has a fundamental role in ensuring the legality and legitimacy of the referendum process, contributing to the protection of democracy and the fundamental rights of citizens. It helps to maintain a balance between political decisions, popular will and respect for constitutional norms.

Конституционно-правовая характеристика референдума как института непосредственной демократии и его реализация

In the modern world, the importance of institutions of direct democracy is not the least important. It is with the help of such institutions that the population is able not only to participate in public affairs, but also directly or indirectly form the authorities themselves, which is no less important. For a more detailed consideration of such constitutional-legal institutions, it is also necessary to analyse the theory and problems of their implementation. It is worth noting that the participation of citizens in making important decisions as a "single system", in the role of a collective subject leads to the unification of the entire population of the country

Direct democracy in the digital age: opportunities, challenges, and new approaches

This article delves into the evolving landscape of direct democracy, particularly in the context of the digital era, where ICT and digital platforms play a pivotal role in shaping democratic engagement. Through a comprehensive analysis of empirical data and theoretical frameworks, it evaluates the advantages and inherent challenges of direct democracy, such as majority tyranny, short-term focus, polarization, and the spread of misinformation. It proposes the concept of Liquid democracy as a promising hybrid model that combines direct and representative elements, allowing for voting rights delegation to trusted entities, thereby potentially mitigating some of the traditional drawbacks of direct democracy. Furthermore, the article underscores the necessity for legal regulations and constitutional safeguards to protect fundamental rights and ensure long-term sustainability within a direct democracy framework. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on democratic innovation and highlights the need for a balanced approach to integrating digital tools with democratic processes.

The Ball That Failed to Curve: The 2023 “Populist Polarizing” Referendum in Poland

<p>In October 2023, Poland’s illiberal right-wing government held a referendum modeled after the one held in Hungary one year earlier. Organized in conjunction with the parliamentary elections under the pretext of “saving costs,” the 2023 Polish referendum constitutes the most recent example of how populists can use direct democracy to mobilize their electorate. However, unlike Hungary’s experience a year earlier, this referendum highlights how “populist polarizing” referendums can become a double-edged sword. Building on previous work by Bartolini and Mair, and Enyedi, this article introduces a new type of referendum: the populist polarizing. Initiated by populist parties to amplify political divisions for partisan gain, this referendum-type frames choices in starkly oppositional terms, creating an “us vs. them” dynamic that intensifies polarization. We contrast this with the more known and studied “cleavage referendums.” In particular, using both primary and secondary data, we demonstrate how Poland’s populist government employed the referendum instrumentally. They posed thematically differentiated questions on issues such as relocating migrants within the EU, selling state assets, raising the retirement age, and removing a border barrier. By exploiting emotionally driven political divides, the government aimed to polarize the campaign and mobilize their voters in the lead-up to the general elections. Departing from the case-study literature, we present an innovative argument: opposition parties can counteract populist governments’ strategies and successfully defend democracy by encouraging a selective boycott—voting in elections while refusing to participate in the referendum. The Polish experience illustrates how populist polarizing referendums, initially aimed to increase polarization and undermine democracy, can paradoxically be used to reverse democratic backsliding and safeguard liberal democracy. The Polish case shows that populist polarizing referendums are not infallible. While populist forces typically exploit polarization, referendums can also become a tool for the opposition. However, for the strategy to be effective, the opposition must take a constructive and strategic approach.</p>

Popular legislative initiative: foreign experience and prospects of implementation in Ukraine

The article clarifies the historical aspects and current features of the constitutional regulation of the people’s legislative initiative in foreign countries; attempts to introduce a popular legislative initiative before the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine in 1996 were analyzed; the shortcomings of the attempt to constitutionally regulate the people’s legislative initiative by submitting a draft law on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine in 2019 have been clarified, and their own proposals for further changes have been expressed. A conclusion was made regarding the existence of such types of people’s initiative as: people’s initiative on holding a referendum, people’s legislative initiative, people’s constitutional initiative, local initiative. The following features of the people’s legislative initiative can be distinguished, based on the analysis of the foreign experience of the constitutionalization of the relevant institution: 1) It is an optional instrument along with traditional subjects, such as the Government, deputies, the President, etc.; 2) Constitutions indicate the minimum number of citizens (mainly voters) who have the right to the relevant popular legislative initiative; 3) Constitutions, as a rule, stipulate the implementation of a popular legislative initiative by the rules established in a special law. The popular legislative initiative is inferior in importance, for example, to such an institution of direct democracy as a referendum. At the same time, the spread of the popular legislative initiative in the world makes it a fairly traditional element of constitutional design and demonstrates respect for popular sovereignty, democracy, and human rights. In Ukraine, during the drafting of the draft Constitution, there was a rather progressive version of the people’s legislative initiative, which the constitutional commission subsequently rejected. In our opinion, the caveat expressed by the CCU in its opinion No. 5-в/2019 dated November 13, 2019 is quite significant, and the number of voters’ votes that must be submitted in support of the relevant draft law must be directly defined in the Constitution itself. That is why it is worth developing and submitting after the end of martial law a new draft law on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine with the aim of normalizing the people’s legislative initiative.

Direct and Digital Democracy in the Ideology and Politics of the Five Star Movement

The article analyses the role of direct and e-democracy in the ideology and political practice of the Italian populist party Five Star Movement (M5S). Founded as a party in 2009, Movement stood out among European populists with its pronounced leftgreen agenda aimed at solving local problems of an urban nature. However, an even more remarkable feature of the Five Stars has become an equally clearly noticeable technoutopianism mixed with direct democracy, which argues for the need to expand democratic participation for ordinary citizens through the tools of direct democracy and digital technologies. Based on the study of primary sources (party documents, Beppe Grillo's blog and the official party blog), as well as text media materials, an attempt is made to trace how during two periods of activity of Five Star Movement in 2013–2022 the attitude of the party leaders to the role of direct and electronic democracy in the political activity of Five Stars gradually changed. The article analyses changes in Five Star Movement’s organisational structure and tools of the e-democracy in the course of the development of the party and its institutionalisation into the Italian party-political system. The article concludes that with the process of Five Stars’ incorporation into the political regime, the party has pushed technoutopianism out of its agenda and practice, strengthening party centralisation. Thus, innovative practices in the digitalisation of the political process did not lead to a real expansion of democratic participation, but were subordinated to a party discipline.

Empowering the people: The evolution and impact of Portugal’s citizens’ legislative initiatives in a comparative perspective

Abstract Citizens’ legislative initiatives (CLIs) are vital instruments of direct democracy that allow citizens to participate in decision-making and influence the legislative agenda. Despite the growing interest globally, there has been limited scholarly attention on Portugal, which implemented this tool in 2003. This study conducts an in-depth case analysis of CLIs in Portugal, examining their legal evolution, institutional design within the European context, and their usage and success. An original dataset characterizes the initiatives, proponents, and subscribers to provide comprehensive insights. While efforts have been made to make CLIs more accessible in Portugal, the existing requirements and procedures remain moderately accessible, with high signature-to-population ratios and lengthy processing times. The study also finds that most CLIs face rejection, expiration, or withdrawal. Successful CLIs, which result in legislation, often lead to laws that are significantly different from the original proposals. This discrepancy arises because parties substantially modify the original texts during the parliamentary discussion and citizens have little influence over the final version of the law. This research highlights the challenges and limitations faced by CLIs emphasizing the need for reforms to enhance citizen influence in the legislative process and the importance of balancing parliamentary control with genuine and meaningful citizen participation.

Postfiguring degrowth: How traditional popular culture challenge growth-oriented common senses

Traditional customs and rituals that continue to exist in the rural peripheries of industrialized countries may contain living elements that 'postfigure' alternative ways of living. We propose a new line of inquiry on postfiguration, at the intersection between anthropology and degrowth and inspired by Antonio Gramsci's work on folklore. By 'postfiguration' we refer to real and existing popular practices with a long history that have elements that disrupt hegemonic growthist common senses. They help imagine alternative futures based on remnants of the past that continue to exist today. We follow a Gramscian understanding of traditional popular culture as a conception of the world and of life. Popular culture contains regressive and progressive elements that need to be analytically identified and separated as part of intentional postfiguration. To illustrate how specific traditions can challenge hegemonic common senses and fuel radical political imaginaries, we analyze three practices from rural Spain: "open councils", or bodies of direct democracy that have existed for centuries; "hacenderas", or traditional forms of work sharing; and long-existing, self-managed rural carnivals associated with convivial subversion. We propose analytics of such instances of 'postfiguration' and discuss the politics that can be built around them.

The Roots of Direct Democracy in the United States: South Dakota’s 1898 Referendum Creating the First Statewide Initiative Process

AbstractWe investigate voter preferences for changes in voting rules, focusing specifically on the creation of citizen-initiative processes that were originally adopted in South Dakota in 1898 and eventually enacted by half of the states. Various claims have been advanced about why the process was adopted and who supported or opposed it, but without presenting evidence from referenda where voters approved the creation of the process. We test these claims by examining county-level election returns from South Dakota’s 1898 referendum that created the first statewide initiative process in the United States. We find that support for the initiative process was generally higher among groups that are disadvantaged in various ways by existing representative institutions and perceive advantages in creating direct democratic institutions capable of bypassing representative processes. These findings stand in contrast to the notion that the adoption of constitutional rules will be relatively free from calculations rooted in self-interest and perceived advantage from the rules changes.

Direct democracy as a liberal political regime

This article is a theoretical contribution to the understanding of direct democracy (DD) and its properties. It departs from common definitions of DD by distinguishing between a hard meaning, according to which direct democracies are characterized by the fact that legislative initiative and veto rights are extended to the entire citizenry, and a soft meaning, according to which they are not. Building on previous findings, it argues that hard DD profoundly alters the balance of power in representative systems and reinforces the liberal features of democratic systems, such as the independence of checks and balances and the empowerment of minorities. This analysis invites us to understand direct democracies as systems in which representatives of political groups and independent institutions negotiate to find a consensual way to implement legislation, and a direct vote of the people only takes place if agreement is not reached.

Громадська думка в Україні та Росії: ефекти повномасштабної війни, факторна зумовленість і вплив на політичні рішення

The paper compares the impact of public opinion about the war on political decisions in Ukraine and Russia. The research question is relevant in two senses. First, Ukraine defends itself against Russia’s unprovoked aggression. Second, Ukraine’s President Zelensky was elected in 2019 on the promise to develop direct democracy and various mechanisms of public participation in the political process, and that actualizes research of public opinion. The author used the data of the results of mass surveys conducted in the two belligerent countries in 2023 and 2024 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology and the Levada Center. Answers to an open-ended question and two closed-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis and regression analysis. It is demonstrated that public opinion in Ukraine had its own dynamics and changed independently of the official position of the authorities. Changes in the public opinion in 2024 were particularly noticeable, and the perception of potential territorial concessions illustrates this tendency. Advantages and disadvantages of the independence of public opinion at wartime are considered. It is proposed to consider more active counterpropaganda efforts targeting Russia’s population, where the minor changes in public opinion and the authorities’ position were in the same direction; and rallying around the flag effect continued during the analyzed period.

A Multidimensional System of Proportional Representation

ABSTRACT In a representative deliberative democracy, a subset of the population—a committee—is selected to enter into deliberations as well as to make decisions on its behalf. In order to make a system of proportional representation fair to individual voters, the deliberations and decisions of the committee should be as close to deliberations and decisions in the ideal direct democracy where all are able to participate. The Chamberlin-Courant system claims to achieve this with its committee selection rule and voting weight distribution among committee members. After offering a novel streamlined presentation of the Chamberlin-Courant system, I argue that it in fact does not guarantee fairness to the individual voter because it does not take sufficient account of the fact that the satisfactoriness of a representative for an individual may vary per issue. I then propose an alternative—the multidimensional system—that is able to do exactly this. I then connect formal political theory with statistics on the use of voting guides to further motivate the proposed system and show that it is feasible to implement.

Trust the People? Populism, Trust, and Support for Direct Democracy

Populism is commonly understood as a response to frustrations with the functioning of modern democracy, while the use of direct democratic mechanisms has been hailed as a remedy for the ailing of representative democracies. Indeed, populism’s emphasis on direct citizen participation in decision-making is tightly linked to its distrust of representative institutions and the political elite as the cornerstone of mediated representation. Trust, however, matters for any functioning democratic institutional arrangement, and we contend that its role warrants more attention when considering the viability of alternative modes of decision-making such as referendums, particularly in the nexus of populism–democracy. Using original public opinion surveys implemented in Argentina, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, we distinguish among different objects of trust—elites, institutions, “the people,” or the society at large. We also explore citizens’ levels of trust in these objects and their association with institutional designs of direct democracy. Our results offer preliminary insights into the importance of horizontal and vertical trust relationships in shaping procedural preferences for different configurations of direct democracy.

Direct Recall as an Instrument of Political Liability of Public Authorities Before Voters in the Republics of Poland and Latvia

The direct and participatory democracy is becoming increasingly popular in recent years in Europe. States are introducing new institutions into their constitutional systems, which, on the one hand, strengthen the ability of citizens to influence decision-making processes and, on the other hand, allow them to control the actions of public authorities. One of such institutions is a “recall”, which provides citizens with the right to recall, by way of voting, the public authorities elected directly by citizens. The institution of recall may take either direct or indirect form. Nevertheless, only a “direct recall” that takes place at the request of citizens can fully satisfy their interests. The direct recall at the national level is a relatively rare institution, hence, Latvian solutions in this area that allow for the recall of parliament before the end of its term may be considered unique, whilst in Poland the institution of direct recall occurs at the local level. Polish experiences with the practice of recalls indicate that for this institution to function effectively, it is necessary to adopt appropriate legal regulations. For example, the high turnout threshold adopted in both countries, which determines the binding nature of the vote, may be a factor that significantly reduces the effectiveness of this measure. The authors present the current legal regulations concerning the institution of direct recall in both states, as well as provide their critical assessment.

Party Competition Over Democracy: Democracy as Electoral Issue in Germany

Elected leaders increasingly undermine liberal democratic institutions with the support of their voters, openly challenging liberal democratic institutions in election campaigns. However, political scientists thus far have lacked the theoretical and empirical tools to study the role of elections in democratic backsliding. This article theorizes the degree to which democracy in general and liberal democracy more specifically can and should be conceptualized as valence and positional issues in multiparty electoral competitions of established liberal democracies. By investigating how German citizens and parties of the postwar period spoke about democracy per se and liberal democracy in their regional and national election manifestos, this article shows that democracy per se and liberal democracy, in particular, have been issues of different qualities in German postwar elections. While parties have used references to democracy in general as a mixed issue, showing both signs of valence and positional issues, parties’ emphasis on liberal democracy is shaped by a positional logic. Social and direct democracy have also been positional issues. Studying democracy and its various conceptions as electoral issues will help us address many important questions concerning the stability of democracies, shifting researchers’ focus to the competition of parties over citizens’ support for reforms that undermine or stabilize liberal democracy.

Research prACTivisms – a methodology for a-more-than-educational-academic knowledge production

ABSTRACT This article aims to problematize knowledge production as merely an academic researcher endeavour by investigating how research can invite preschool-aged children to activate knowledge in situ. Informed by Isabelle Stengers’ theoretical framework, we developed the research methodology of Research prACTivisms through three propositions: activating an ecology of practices, engaging a direct democracy, and emerging situation ethics and values as means for change and transformations in continuous processes and activations. We argue that Research prACTivisms may produce and activate marginalized actors and knowledge in order to produce contemporary and situated political research practices and approaches.

Democracy Education in Schools: Theory, Framework and Classroom Activities

This study deals with democracy education in three dimensions. The first of these dimensions is the theory dimension. In this dimension, the pedagogical and theoretical characteristics of the educational activities to be carried out for children, especially in the primary education period, have been tried to be explained. The second part of the study is the presentation of a framework plan to enable the acquisition of democracy consciousness and democratic attitude behaviors by students. The last part of the study consists of activity examples. As a result, this study is designed as an introductory book to be used by teachers and researchers regarding the purpose, content, learning-teaching situations, and evaluation steps related to democracy education, which should be included in the curricula in all countries of the world. It is thought that expanding the proposed activities and implementing them in schools will provide theoretically based democracy education. Switzerland is known for its strong democracy that has been exercised continuously for hundreds of years. Democracy education practices in Switzerland, which stands out as a country with direct democracy practices, are also explained within the conceptual framework.