EU Referendums in Context: What can we learn from the Swiss Case?

Heidbreder, Eva G.; Stadelmann, Isabelle; Thomann, Eva; Sager, Fritz (2019). EU Referendums in Context: What can we learn from the Swiss Case? Public administration - an international quarterly, 97(2), pp. 370-383. Wiley 10.1111/padm.12566

Preview	Text Heidbreder_et_al-2018-Public_Administration.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (876kB) | Preview
	Text Heidbrederetal19.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (1MB) | Request a copy

The rising number of referendums on EU matters, such as the Brexit and the Catalonian independence votes, highlight the increasing importance of referendums as a problem‐solving mechanism in the EU. We argue that the Swiss case provides essential insights into understanding the dynamics behind referendums, which are often lacking when referendums are called for in the EU. Referendums in EU member states on EU matters differ substantially from the in Swiss context. Nevertheless, proponents of more direct democratic decision‐making regularly cite the Swiss example. Our systematic analysis of why referendums are called, how they unfold and their resulting effects in the EU and Switzerland reveals that the EU polity lacks the crucial conditions that embed direct democracy within the wider political and institutional system. The comparative perspective offers fundamental insights into the pre‐conditions required for direct democracy to function and its limitations in the EU.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

219 since deposited on 13 Dec 2018
70 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item