scholarly journals Financing Direct Democracy: Revisiting the Research on Campaign Spending and Citizen Initiatives

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. de Figueiredo ◽  
Chang Ho Ji ◽  
Thad Kousser
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Campaign Spending ◽  
Citizen Initiatives

Direct democracy, policy diffusion, and medicalized marijuana

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-82
Author(s):  
Cynthia Rugeley ◽  
John Frendreis ◽  
Raymond Tatalovich
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Policy Diffusion ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
Conventional Model ◽  
Political Variable ◽  
Horizontal Diffusion ◽  
Citizen Initiatives ◽  
R Process

AbstractVirtually all studies of policy diffusion are based on statutory enactments by state legislatures. But a substantial number of medicalized marijuana laws were initiated through citizen initiatives and ratified by referenda (I&R). This case study suggests that the diffusion of laws adopted by I&R requires two modifications to the conventional model of policy diffusion. First, early policy adoptions must occur through direct democracy so that horizontal diffusion results when those past adoptions by the I&R process lead to future adoptions. Second, the necessity of bypassing institutions of representative government must be operationalized as an interaction between the availability of direct democracy and the precise political variable that blocks legislative enactments.

scholarly journals The hidden cost of direct democracy: How ballot initiatives affect politicians’ selection and incentives

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Prato ◽  
Bruno Strulovici
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Gay Marriage ◽  
Foreign Workers ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
Direct Benefit ◽  
The Us ◽  
Hidden Cost ◽  
Citizen Initiatives ◽  
Selection Of

Citizen initiatives and referendums play an important role in modern democracies, from treaty ratifications in the European Union to gay marriage in California, to the control of foreign workers in Switzerland. Departing from the classic opposition between direct and representative democracy, we study the equilibrium effects of direct democracy institutions on the incentives and selection of elected officials. We find that facilitating direct democracy induces a negative spiral on politicians’ role and contribution to society, which may dominate any direct benefit. The theory offers predictions on reelection probabilities and politicians’ performance consistent with recent evidence from the US states.

scholarly journals Local Citizen Initiatives in Poland: The Disparity in Signature Requirements

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-66
Author(s):  
Dorota Lis-Staranowicz ◽  
Monika Giżyńska
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Statutory Requirement ◽  
The Social ◽  
Citizen Initiatives ◽  
The Relationship

In the social sciences, the attention is drawn to the relationship between instruments of direct democracy and signature requirement, because the latter may block the activity of citizens. Therefore, this paper focuses on signature requirements of local citizen’ initiatives (LCI), which is also analyzed from the perspective of the principle of equality. We identify: the legal threshold of support (LTS) and the actual threshold of support (ATS). The legal threshold is construed as the statutory requirement of support (quantified or specified as a percentage), whereas the actual threshold of support is the quotient of the number of signatures required and the total number of residents in a given district. With respect to the LCI, a district is an area of a municipality, poviat and voivodship. The ATS is an indicator used by us to study the principle of equality.

The Development of Initiatives and Municipal Referendums in Germany

2022 ◽  
pp. 41-65
Author(s):  
Christophe Emmanuel Premat
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Approval Rate ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Local Initiatives ◽  
Citizen Initiatives ◽  
Political Decisions

Direct democracy offers possibilities for citizens to influence political decisions especially at the local level. In Germany, the local political systems have been affected by the introduction of direct democratic tools such as citizen initiatives and local referendums since the Reunification. The state legislations defined new conditions for citizen initiatives and municipal referendums with a minimum number of valid signatures for initiatives and a minimum approval rate for referendums. The chapter evaluates the practice of local initiatives and municipal referendums in Germany and examines the routinization of these tools in local politics.

Kämpfe um Bergbau und die Möglichkeiten demokratischer Transformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (189) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Mining Project ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Relationship

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.

Discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by a Sweden Democrat in the European Parliament

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Kamber Güler
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Power ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Group

Discourses are mostly used by the elites as a means of controlling public discourse and hence, the public mind. In this way, they try to legitimate their ideology, values and norms in the society, which may result in social power abuse, dominance or inequality. The role of a critical discourse analyst is to understand and expose such abuses and inequalities. To this end, this paper is aimed at understanding and exposing the discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by the elites in the European Parliament (EP), through the example of Kristina Winberg, a member of the Sweden Democrats political party in Sweden and the political group of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy in the EP. In the theoretical and methodological framework, the premises and strategies of van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach of critical discourse analysis make it possible to achieve the aim of the paper.

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