Direct Democracy in Europe

Dr. Zoltan Tibor Pallinger is Senior Research Fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute, Bendern, Liechtenstein. Bruno Kaufmann is President of the Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe. Dr. Wilfried Marxer is Senior Research Fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute, Bendern, Liechtenstein. Dr. Theo Schiller is Professor at the Department of Political Science, Philipps University Marburg.

• System contexts and system effects of direct democracy - direct democracy in Liechtenstein and Switzerland compared.- Direct-democratic procedures as corrective mechanisms in consociational systems or for clientelistic structures—some brief remarks.- A Double Integration Policy Divide: Votes and Interest Group Recommendations in Switzerland.- Direct Democracy and Theories of Participatory Democracy—some observations.- The design determines the quality — some criteria for determining the design and the quality of direct democracy.- Reflections on the social production of incompetent citizens.- The role of the political elite in Swiss direct-democratic votes.- Beyond Information and Opinion. The importance of public communication in the referendum process.- On the economic efficiency of direct democracy.- Direct Democracy and Citizens’ Information about Politics.- Prospects for Transnational Direct Democracy—Exploring the New European Approach to Citizens’ Power beyond the Nation-State.- Voting Behaviour in the European Constitution Process.- Referendums and Ratification of the EU Constitution.- Referendum experience in Slovakia: a long and winding road.- Prospects for Participatory Democracy in the Supranational Constitutionalism of the European Union.- Databases for (empirical) research on “direct democracy”.

"Funktioniert direkte Demokratie nur in kleineren, konsensbasierten Systemen? Andert ein schrittweises Abgehen von der reprasentativen Demokratie die Beziehung zwischen politischer Elite und Wahlerschaft? Wie stellt sich partizipative Demokratie in der Europaischen Union dar? Die Beitrage dieses Sammelbandes beantworten dies durch umfangreiches empirisches Material in zahlreichen Tabellen; und wo sie das nicht leisten konnen, geben sie zumindest gewichtige Gedankenanregungen." www.zpol.de (Zeitschrift fur Politikwissenschaft), 28.03.2008