World Referendums

Overview of World Referendums

Is the time ripe for national referendums in the US?

With the US presidential elections less than two weeks away, journalist Joe Mathews argues for a Swiss-style direct democracy system in the United States.

Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Referendum: Another Step Backward?

On April 11, Kyrgyzstani citizens will head to the polls for the third time in six months to vote on a controversial constitutional referendum that would enhance the political power of the president, allow presidents to run for a second term, and push through initiatives designed to weaken the parliament.It has been a tumultuous half-year in Kyrgyzstan, which has witnessed a seemingly endless series of political crises, including the collapse of the former government, a short period of violent unrest, and the rise of convicted criminal Sadyr Japarov to the country’s presidency.Meanwhile, the social, economic, and public health repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to endanger human security in the Central Asian country.

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New Caledonia referendum: Will archipelago vote to split from France?

The vote is the second referendum on independence in two years.Campaigners for separation from France feel victory this time is within their grasp.

Recent EU Referendums—Anything New Under the Sun?

There have been three no votes in EU referendums in 2015 and 2016, including the dramatic British no vote in June 2016 to leave the EU.Are we witnessing new voter dynamics? Is voter decision-making more influenced by a broad lack of confidence in political elites and institutions among large groups of voters, resulting in a new form of second-order dynamics? The following will discuss only the British and Danish no votes, as the extremely low salience of the Dutch 2016 referendum on the EU’s association agreement with Ukraine makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about voter decision-making, with only 32.3% of voters turning up.

Should the United States establish a nationwide initiative and referendum process?

In the US, citizens can vote in referendums and initiatives at local levels, but not the national.

Voter Behavior—Do Voters Actually Answer the Question They Are Asked?

What factors determine voter choice in EU-related referendums? The core debate in the literature is whether citizens actually decide in relation to their underlying attitudes toward the EU and/or the proposition itself (issue-voting) or whether they decide based on other considerations like governmental popularity because they do not believe EU-related propositions are important enough to expend the cognitive resources required to actually understand the issue and make an informed decision (second-order).This section explores the debate between second-order and issue-voting theories and the evidence for both, illustrating the developing consensus about the contextual conditions under which issue-voting dominates.However, even when issue-voting dominates in high-salience referendums, there is also evidence that voters hold a status-quo bias, and in instances where a vote is close, voter dispositions to keep what they know instead of opting for more unsure gains can tip the balance toward preserving the status quo.Finally, more recent research has opened up for the role of emotional dynamics might play alongside more “rational,” material considerations in relation to issue-voting.

What are the possible consequences for Brexit?

The Swiss referendum was already being prepared before the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.

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Routledge & CRC Press eBooks are available through VitalSource.The free VitalSource Bookshelf® application allows you to access to your eBooks whenever and wherever you choose.

What other issues did Switzerland vote on?

A referendum on paternity leave for new fathers was among the other issues on Sunday's ballot.

What reaction has there been?

The president of the right-wing SVP, Marco Chiesa, conceded that his campaign had struggled to garner enough support for a proposal which was opposed by the government, parliament and tradio unions.

History of World Referendums