Direct Democracy Process Research Articles

Consulta popular como democracia directa en Cuba y Venezuela

This document has been prepared using a qualitative methodology based on a bibliographical review of authors, books, articles and other scientific sources. This allows us to achieve the objective of analyzing the processes of direct democracy in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, through the legal tools for the participation of their citizens. Due to existing democratic events, decision-making by the people has to be handled correctly and truthfully, always seeking collective improvement and involvement on the part of the citizens. In Cuba, as in Venezuela, direct democracy has several mechanisms such as popular consultations, referendums and revokements of mandate, where citizens can be continuously involved in the democratic scenarios of each country. By having a clear understanding of democratic processes, we motivate and encourage the exercise of collective participation to achieve democratic control and transparency, based on good living and innovation for a development of decision-making and always achieve, committed participation.

Protected Areas Established by Local Communities through Direct Democracy Encompass Habitat for Species as Effectively as Protected Areas Planned over Large Spatial Scales.

Local communities contribute to broader biodiversity protection goals when managing their immediate environment when they establish protected areas. However, their efforts are geographically constrained and often uncoordinated. We compare protected areas established by local communities through the direct democracy process in California, US, to protected areas created and managed by two conservation actors working over larger spatial scales, one private and one public. Despite being geographically constrained to smaller spatial scales, protected areas established by local communities were as effective as those established by larger scale conservation actors at representing different habitat types. However, local ballot protected areas tended to protect more common species. All three protected area networks often performed no better than random in terms of siting protected areas to support narrow range species and rare habitats. Improved accounting of local communities' protection efforts would allow organizations with greater funding flexibility to focus their efforts to increase representation of rarer species and habitats in protected area systems.

Institutional Analysis Model for Examining Direct Democracy Phenomena: a Case Study of Participatory Budgeting

Direct democracy, the tradition of which dates back to ancient Athens, is now widely practised in many countries around the world. In this paper, a case study of participatory budgeting is given as an illustration of how residents can decide directly about their common resources. The paper is theoretical in nature. It aims to present a model of institutional analysis of direct democracy phenomena based on the example of participatory budgets analysis, taking into account variables related to two novel approaches: Varieties of Capitalism and intersectionality. This model can be used for diagnosing aspects of local democracy, comparative studies of participatory budgeting processes taking place in various countries around the world, as well as for further research into other processes of direct democracy, thus contributing to the development of knowledge in this field and to social sciences in general.

Self‐Governance in Latin America: To What Extent Can Citizens Make Policy via Direct Democracy?

In the past two decades, many Latin American countries incorporated direct‐democracy mechanisms (e.g. initiatives and referendums) into their constitutions. By expanding the room for citizens' political participation, direct democracy was meant to reduce the gap between citizens and government and create a more‐inclusive form of governing, but was it really the case? This article asks, to what extent can citizens use direct democracy to shape public policy in Latin America? It argues that constitutions in Latin America provide an ambiguous basis for the use of referendums and initiatives, which allows governments to shape and limit their use during the agenda‐setting stage. By specifying the limitations on the types of mechanisms used, the issues that cannot be decided via direct democracy, and the barriers to placing mechanisms on the ballot, governments can control the direct democracy process to a greater extent than has heretofore been acknowledged.

Kämpfe um Bergbau und die Möglichkeiten demokratischer Transformation

The article explores the political effects of popular consultations as a means of direct democracy in struggles over mining. Building on concepts from participatory and materialist democracy theory, it shows the transformative potentials of processes of direct democracy towards democratization and emancipation under, and beyond, capitalist and liberal democratic conditions. Empirically the analysis is based on a case study on the protests against the La Colosa gold mining project in Colombia. The analysis reveals that although processes of direct democracy in conflicts over mining cannot transform existing class inequalities and social power relations fundamentally, they can nevertheless alter elements thereof. These are for example the relationship between local and national governments, changes of the political agenda of mining and the opening of new spaces for political participation, where previously there were none. It is here where it’s emancipatory potential can be found.

The Potential of Direct Democracy: A Global Measure (1900–2014)

To what extent is direct democracy achieved in current polities? To answer this question, I develop an index, Direct Democracy Practice Potential, which is applied to 200 polities worldwide. This index results from the aggregation of the scores of four types of mechanisms of direct democracy: popular initiatives, popular referendums, obligatory referendums, and authorities’ plebiscites. This index measures: (1) how easy it is to initiate and approve each type of popular vote, and (2) how consequential that vote is (if approved). Ease of initiation is measured by: (a) the existence of a direct democracy process, (b) the number of signatures needed, and (c) time limits to collect signatures. Ease of approval is measured by quorums pertaining to: (a) participation, (b) approval, (c) supermajority, and (d) district majority. Regarding how consequential the vote is, it considers its decisiveness (whether the decision is binding), and the threat capability of citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy as measured by the frequency with which direct popular votes have been used and approved in the past. Finally, the study tests the validity of the new measure, discussing its strengths and limitations.

Measuring the Potential of Direct Democracy Around the World (1900-2014)

To what extent is direct democracy achieved in current polities? To answer this question, I develop an index, Direct Democracy Practice Potential (DDPP), which is applied to 200 polities worldwide. This index results from the aggregation of the scores of four types of mechanisms of direct democracy: popular initiatives, popular referendums, obligatory referendums, and authorities’ plebiscites. This index measures: (1) how easy it is to initiate and approve each type of popular vote and (2) how consequential that vote is (if approved). Ease of initiation is measured by: (a) the existence of a direct democracy process, (b) the number of signatures needed, and (c) time limits to collect signatures. Ease of approval is measured by quorums pertaining to: (a) participation, (b) approval, (c) supermajority, and (d) district majority. Consequences are measured by: (a) the legal status of the decision made by citizens (binding or consultative), and (b) the frequency with which direct popular votes have been used and approved in the past.

A governação das escolas portuguesas entre 1974 e 1976 e o papel dos sindicatos na emergência do novo sistema de gestão escolar

After the April 1974 revolution, the existing political situation in Portugal was destroyed.With this came the first teacher unions, which were important in the mobilization of education inPortugal. Schools assumed the role of decision centres, developed processes of direct democracy,and were self-managing. Unions became privileged structures of intervention for the rights for teachers. In an attempt to regulate this period, law no 769-A/76 of October 23 was created, whichregulated the management of Portuguese schools. Gradually, the democratic management model assumed a (neo) corporate feature, allowing teachers to represent the public interest in school.

When Tobacco Targets Direct Democracy

Tobacco control advocates began to use ballot initiatives to enact tobacco control measures in the late 1970s. In response, the tobacco industry worked for over two decades to change laws governing initiative and referendum processes to prevent passage of such measures. In 1981 the tobacco industry's political lobbying arm, the Tobacco Institute, created a front group that presented itself as a neutral initiative research clearinghouse to effect changes in state initiative and referenda laws. In 1990 the Tobacco Institute began creating an in-house team and worked with third-party groups to try to change state initiative laws. While the industry ultimately abandoned both efforts when neither achieved immediate success, over time the industry's goals have penetrated legitimate discourse on the initiative and referendum process in the United States, and many specific ideas it advocated have garnered mainstream support. Direct democracy advocates, as well as public health advocates and policy makers, need to understand the tobacco industry's goals (which other industries adopted) of limiting the direct democracy process to ensure that any changes do not inadvertently increase the power of the special interests that direct democracy was developed to counterbalance.

Post‐conventional Political Cultures via Processes of Direct Democracy: Theoretical Considerations Based on Jürgen Habermas and Lawrence Kohlberg

AbstractIn this article, it is proposed to differentiate political cultures in two dimensions. First, inspired by Habermas' distinction of the contents of discourse, a distinction is suggested between moral, ethical‐political and pragmatic elements of political culture as well as of an element of culture of balancing interests. Second, inspired by Kohlberg's stage models for the development of the individual moral consciousness and for moral culture, a distinction is similarly suggested between two pre‐conventional, two conventional and two post‐conventional collective stages of political culture. It can be shown that from a normative point of view, only deliberations made in a post‐conventional political culture can produce reasonable or at least fair results. Conceptual considerations indicate processes of direct democracy as the method for promoting post‐conventional political cultures. The more liberty that the citizens have to formulate and trigger processes of direct democracy, the more one can expect from them to generate post‐conventional political cultures.

Protecting Anonymous Expression: The Internet's Role in Washington State's Disclosure Laws and the Direct Democracy Process

This Note proposes that the Washington State Legislature amend its Public Records Act to exempt from public disclosure personal information legally required to be disclosed by signers of referendum petitions. This Note also proposes that the Washington State Legislature designate an electronic system, to be detailed in its election law, by which referendum petitions can be checked for fraud without violating the right to anonymous expression protected by the First Amendment. Part I describes Washington State's referendum process and the path of Doe v. Reed, the case animating the reform presented in this Note. Part II illustrates how the rise of the Internet complicated the interpretation of the PRA; this section further demonstrates that the PRA could not have been intended to apply to referendum petitions. Part III proposes a statutory reform to Washington's PRA. Finally, this Note concludes that such a reform simultaneously advances the ideals of transparent government and an election process imbued with integrity, while providing a shield of anonymity for petition signers wishing to maintain a degree of privacy when participating in an expressive, direct, democratic process.

State Policy Innovation and the Federalism Implications of Direct Democracy

As state policy activism has flourished in recent years, increasingly that activism has taken place through the direct democracy process. While winning ballot measures often have implications for federal-state relations, federalism issues have largely been ignored in the direct democracy literature. I address this oversight by investigating how the outcomes of direct democracy politics affect the relationships among citizens, states, and the federal government. My analysis focuses on measures proposed over the last decade that represent either a response to perceived federal inaction or a challenge to federal policy. The findings suggest that initiatives have different effects on federal-state relations depending on the form they take. When ballot measures seeking to fill a policy void lead to federal action, they promote intergovernmental policy consensus and narrow the distance between public opinion and federal policy; if the federal government fails to address the issue at stake, additional state innovation will result and voter preferences and federal policy outcomes will move farther apart. Meanwhile, initiatives that challenge federal law create conflict and polarization between states and the federal government and widen the distance between public opinion and federal policy. The passage of initiatives in both categories heightens opinion-policy congruence at the state level as officials are often eager to publicly support and implement the results of successful ballot measures.

The Davis Recall and the Courts

The recall of California Governor Gray Davis generated intense litigation as recall opponents sought, without much success, to convince courts to block, modify, or postpone the election. Using an interpretive case study approach, this article analyzes these outcomes and develops the theory that the courts’ reluctance to intervene in the Davis recall process was largely dictated by the nature of the recall device itself. More specifically, the recall’s only substantive question was nonjusticiable, so litigants were limited to procedural challenges, and on most of the procedural issues, courts deferred to local election officials. The constraints on judicial review of recall highlight differences between recall and initiative, a direct democracy process courts more actively check.