Direct Democracy Research Articles

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

Abstract We 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.

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.

Participatory Democracy in Southern Africa: Explaining Botswana’s Exceptionalism

Botswana has had fair and stable elections since its independence in 1966. It has a relatively high standard of living, a relatively well-functioning welfare state, and relatively low levels of government corruption. Voter participation is among the highest in the world, topping 80 percent in the past elections. Access to education and healthcare is free to all citizens. How can we best explain Botswana’s exceptionalism in the political, economic, and social realms, and what policy lessons does the case of Botswana contain? This article shows that it is Botswana’s millennial tradition of direct village democracy, kgotla, that best explains its exceptional performance. I visited Botswana in May of 2023 to evaluate the importance of participatory democracy in Botswana and assess its explanatory power. When comparing local participation to other, potentially relevant causal factors, I find that local political participation provides the most robust explanation for good governance in Botswana. In Botswana, citizens are able to hold their elected officials accountable, learn how politics works by acquiring the necessary technical knowledge (techne) through participating in regular, monthly public assemblies, and, as a result, make better-informed political decisions.

Direct democracy and AI as a way to revitalize the health of the Federal Commonwealth

Democracy stands as the cornerstone of our modern world and current achievements; however, its present foundation was laid mainly in the 18th century, a time marked by slavery, widespread conflicts, imperialism, significant illiteracy, lack of advanced technologies, etc. While the global landscape has evolved, democratic institutions have not progressed simultaneously. Integrating artificial intelligence into our lives, alongside the practical implementation of direct democracy, provides a glimpse of potential enhancements that might propel us to a new level of governance—a vision articulated by A. Toffler and other thinkers. These enhancements could significantly boost societal knowledge, bringing us closer to the emergence of a knowledge society both chronologically and conceptually. On the other hand, AI systems pose risks to democracy, including limiting our free will and creating digital slavery. The trajectory of our progress depends on the decisions we make today. These issues are the focus of the paper’s comprehensive and pragmatic analysis.

Casting Votes into the Void

The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is a unique instrument promising to enable direct democracy, by enabling citizens to directly request the European Commission to propose legislation in areas where the Commission has the power to do so. The instrument is designed to promote democratic participation and increase the transparency of the EU decision-making processes. This article assesses the effectiveness of the ECI as an instrument to enhance citizen participation in the EU decision-making processes, with a particular focus on initiatives relating to environmental concerns and climate change. Despite the ECI’s potential to empower citizens and facilitate their input in EU policymaking, the instrument has been criticized for its complexity, limited impact and inaccessibility. Additionally, there are concerns that the ECI process may not be an adequate tool for addressing complex issues such as environmental concerns or climate change. This article explores these weaknesses and evaluates the extent to which the ECI can be utilized as a tool for enhancing citizen participation in environmental policymaking, analysing case studies of past initiatives in this area and examining their outcomes to determine the ECI’s ability to influence EU policies.

The institution of popular veto: experience of selected foreign countries

This article examines the legislation of foreign countries regarding mechanisms of direct democracy, particularly the institution of popular veto. A historical analysis of the development of this instrument in European law has been conducted. The methodological basis of the publication consists of scientific methods based on the requirements of objective and comprehensive analysis of socio-political and legal phenomena, which include direct democracy in foreign countries. The research methodology is founded on general theoretical principles and approaches to determining the initial parameters of the formation and development of popular veto as a form of direct democracy. To achieve scientific objectivity in the results, the author used a full range of general scientific and special research methods widely applied in the modern science of constitutional law. It has been established that although modern forms of direct democracy emerged relatively recently, the concept of popular veto has roots in ancient civilizations as a means of limiting the abuse of power. Initially, the right of veto was exercised not directly by citizens, but by authorized persons on behalf of the people, who could reject laws that contradicted fundamental norms. It is argued that although popular veto was first enshrined in French constitutional law, Switzerland is considered its birthplace, where this institution received genuine development and was first implemented in practice in 1831. The evolution of popular veto is closely linked to the development of Swiss statehood; however, the immediate impetus for its implementation was granting citizens direct voting rights and the right to participate in referendums. Initially, popular veto was applied at the level of individual cantons, and in 1874 it was enshrined in the Swiss Constitution at the national level. According to the constitutional procedure, a specified number of voters can officially express disagreement with an adopted law within a set period, after which it must be submitted to a nationwide referendum for approval or repeal.

A meta‐analysis of the effects of democratic innovations on participants’ attitudes, behaviour and capabilities

AbstractDemocratic innovations aim to strengthen citizen participation in democratic decision‐making processes. Building on theories of deliberative democracy, participatory democracy and direct democracy, different types of democratic innovations have been developed, ranging from mini‐publics, to participatory processes and referendums and citizens’ initiatives. Over the last four decades, an expanding number of scholars have investigated the effects of these democratic innovations on citizens. However, even though a considerable amount of research has been done, there currently exists no overview of the effects of different types of democratic innovations on citizens’ attitudes, behaviour and capabilities. In addition, it is unclear which effects prove robust across studies, and which effects require more investigation.The aim of this paper is to systematically evaluate what we know and what we do not know yet about the effects of democratic innovations on citizens who participate in them. In order to do so, we conduct a meta‐analysis of 100 quantitative empirical studies published between 1980 and 2020. We find, perhaps unsurprisingly, that mini‐publics are widely researched for their effects on citizens, whereas studies into the effects of participatory processes and referendums and citizens’ initiatives on participating citizens are much less frequent. We also find that participation in mini‐publics changes citizens’ policy attitudes and positively affects citizens’ political attitudes, knowledge, internal efficacy and reasoning skills. For participatory processes, our analyses indicate that they appear to have a positive effect on participants’ political attitudes and knowledge and no effect on participants’ internal efficacy, but there are too few studies to draw robust conclusions. Participation in referendums and citizens’ initiatives appears to have a positive effect on participants’ knowledge and internal efficacy, even though these findings should also be considered preliminary due to the limited number of studies.

Augmenting surveys with social media discourse on the workings of democracy from a cross-national perspective

This paper introduces an unsupervised framework that illustrates how insights gathered from opinion surveys regarding the functionality of democracy can be connected to social media messages of politicians on an international scale. By concentrating on the influence of social media messages from elected officials, the study adopts a “top-down” theoretical approach that links citizens’ attitudes towards democracy with the viewpoints about democracy expressed by politicians within social media discourses. Using a word embedding classification strategy, democracy-related themes are extracted from politicians’ messages. The research is conducted across 11 European countries, namely, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Switzerland is also included in the study because of its direct democracy system. The 10th round of the European Social Survey serves as the basis for assessing citizens’ democratic attitudes. The study encompasses two main analytical segments. First, aggregated analyses conducted at the country level reveal the degree of alignment between prominent democracy-related themes present in politicians’ discourse and citizens’ perceived significance of these same themes. Second, individual-level connections between social media data and survey respondents are established through their preferred political party (or orientation). Variable importance analysis is subsequently applied to explore which democracy-related themes conveyed by politicians hold significance in predicting public contentment with democracy.

Flexible representative democracy

AbstractWe introduce Flexible Representative Democracy (FRD), a novel hybrid of Representative Democracy and Direct Democracy in which voters can alter the issue-dependent weights of a set of elected representatives. In line with the literature on Interactive Democracy, our model allows the voters to actively determine the degree to which the system is direct versus representative. However, unlike Liquid Democracy, Flexible Representative Democracy uses strictly non-transitive delegations, making delegation cycles impossible, and maintains a fixed set of accountable, elected representatives. We present Flexible Representative Democracy and analyze it using a computational approach with issues that are binary and symmetric. We compare the outcomes of various voting systems using Direct Democracy with majority voting as an ideal baseline. First, we demonstrate the shortcomings of Representative Democracy in our model. We provide NP-Hardness results for electing an ideal set of representatives, discuss pathologies, and demonstrate empirically that common multi-winner election rules for selecting representatives do not perform well in expectation. To analyze the effects of adding delegation to representative voting systems, we begin by providing theoretical results on how issue-specific delegations determine outcomes. Finally, we provide empirical results comparing the outcomes of various voting systems: Representative Democracy, Proxy Voting, and FRD with issue-specific delegations. Our results show that variants of Proxy Voting yield no discernible benefit over unweighted representatives and reveal the potential for Flexible Representative Democracy to improve outcomes as voter participation increases.

Information, emotion, and direct democracy: evidence from a survey experiment on Taiwan’s nuclear power plant referendum

ABSTRACT Information and cue-taking research suggests that given most citizens lack knowledge of and interest in politics, people rely on cues from political parties or social groups to decide their opinions on issues. Using a survey experiment conducted in Taiwan regarding nuclear energy, we rigorously examine the effect of information on direct democracy. Further, based on appraisal theories I suppose that information as stimuli may trigger emotion if there is significant policy inference from information. This study estimates a causal mediation effect of information on voting intention through emotion. The central finding is that receiving more relevant information triggers emotion, which in turn makes individuals in such circumstance much more likely to express their voice (i.e. participate in the referendum). [This study echoes] the information research: party-cue or group-influence is not a necessary condition for people to accept new information and behave accordingly.

Democracy and Public Finance in the Greek Cities

Summarizing several main points of the synthesis book published by this author in 2014, this article emphasizes the role of direct democracy in the management of finance in the Greek cities: powers of assemblies and councils, planning of public spending, supervision of the magistrates and the rendering of accounts, and organization of financial resources (regular revenue and occasional contributions by individuals). The financial system of the cities was admittedly imperfect, but it was better organized and more efficient than is often claimed; one of its essential characteristics was the commitment of wealthy citizens to politics and their financial contributions.

Ballot Box Representation: Spatial Voting and the Effects of Information in Direct Democracy Elections

AbstractIn states and localities with direct democracy, citizens can advance their policy interests without the aid of elected officials. Research documenting citizens’ lack of political knowledge raises questions about their ability to do so. We conduct three studies during real-world direct democracy elections to determine whether citizens choose alternatives (the ballot proposal or status quo) that are closest to their ideological positions and whether political information improves this outcome. Using original surveys, our first two studies estimate citizens’ ideological positions and show that citizens regularly choose alternatives that are closest to these positions. Using a survey experiment, our third study indicates that political information (party cues, policy information, and spatial maps) further improves such spatial voting. These results demonstrate citizens’ capacity to advance their policy interests in direct democracy elections and identify conditions under which political information strengthens the relationship between citizens’ policy interests and choices about ballot propositions.

Importable or exceptional? Swiss direct-democratic instruments in the French and German Parliaments, 2000–19

ABSTRACT Recent years have seen growing interest in the ways politicians conceive direct democracy instruments (DDIs) and their integration into representative systems as one way to increase citizen participation. Our investigation focuses on how French and German members of parliament (MPs) have mobilized DDIs in Switzerland as a (counter-) model in parliaments from 2000 to 2019, a period marked about debates on the need to complement representative democracy with alternative procedures. The Swiss case acts as a prism of perception through which we can trace the larger conceptual struggles around democracy and DDIs. We underline the heightened topical importance of DDIs in the 2000s and their increasingly controversial nature, especially in the late 2010s following the rise of populism and the Brexit Referendum. The growth of anti-system and radical-right challengers presenting a DDI agenda and claiming the Swiss model for their own led mainstream parties to a defensive position as regards to representative democracy, whether by rejecting DDIs more than ever or by trying to reclaim their interpretative monopoly over them.

Towards environmental impact of inward foreign direct investment: the moderating role of varieties of democracy

PurposeThis paper aims to clarify the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), democracy and carbon intensity. This study examines the influence of types of democracy on the relationship between inward FDI and carbon intensity. For this purpose, it uses five varieties of democracy, including a composite democracy indicator as moderating variables.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies the fixed-effects panel quantile regression approach that considers unobserved heterogeneity and distributional heterogeneity using panel data from 160 countries during 1990–2020. By taking into account sudden changes in the volume of inward FDI, an event study is conducted across various sub-samples of democracy to check the robustness of the results.FindingsThe results show that FDI has a significantly negative impact on carbon intensity of the host country in the upper quantiles. In general, different types of democracy have a significant positive impact on carbon intensity across different quantiles. After considering the other factors, including industry intensity, trade openness, green technology, fossil fuel dependency and International Environmental Agreements, there is evidence that all types of democracy moderate the relationship between FDI and carbon intensity, thereby supporting the halo effect hypothesis. In addition, the interaction effects have a significant negative impact on carbon intensity of low- and high-carbon-intensive countries.Originality/valueThis paper offers several contributions to the literature on the effect of FDI and democracy on carbon intensity. This study overcomes the limitations related to the conceptualization and measurement of democracy found in the literature. While prior research has predominately concentrated on how democracy promotes the selection of FDI host-country locations, this study seeks to answer the question of whether democracy type has any effect on inward FDI, thus contributing to improving carbon intensity. Furthermore, this paper analyses the interaction effect on carbon intensity in different countries with different carbon intensity levels separately.