Referendums and the European Union

Fernando Mendez is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy at the University of Zurich. Mario Mendez is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law at Queen Mary, University of London. Vasiliki Triga is a Lecturer in the Department of Communication and Internet Studies at the Cyprus University of Technology.

• 1. Direct democracy, referendums, and European integration: a conceptual framework; 2. Constitutionally accommodating European integration: the role and impact of the referendum; 3. Political dynamics around EU related referendums; 4. EU institutional adaptation in the shadow of the extraterritorial referendum; 5. Dilemmas of direct democracy: the EU from comparative perspective; 6. Models of constitutional design; 7. Conclusion.

"It is rare to read a book that is entertaining as well as enlightening. Fernando Mendez, Mario Mendez and Vasiliki Triga’s monograph Referendums and the European Union: A Comparative Inquiry is such a book. Thorough, insightful and with details that go far beyond the topic of referendums on European integration, this book is a good introduction to the timely issue of referendums in general. In addition to an historical overview of the institution, the authors provide relevant contextual information and give the reader an insight into the political developments that led to the holding of referendums in the EU countries … the authors are able to make constitutional theory interesting through historical examples that add context to the otherwise rather dreary study of articles and paragraphs." Matt Qvortrup, Political Studies Review