EU referendums in context: What can we learn from the Swiss case?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Heidbreder, Eva G.; Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle; Thomann, Eva; Sager, Fritz
• 署名单位: Otto von Guericke University; University of Bern; University of Exeter; University of Bern
• 刊物名称: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-3298
• DOI: 10.1111/padm.12566
• 发表日期: 2019
• 页码: 370-383
• 关键词: direct democracy; European integration; TREATY; POLICY; PARTICIPATION; CONSTITUTION; POLITICS; party; Euroscepticism; CONSEQUENCES

摘要

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 those in the 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 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 preconditions required for direct democracy to function and its limitations in the EU.