Direct Democracy and Minorities

✍ Scribed by Dr. Franz Cede M.A. (auth.), Dr. Wilfried Marxer (eds.)

• Publisher: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 247
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Modern direct democracy has become an essential element of political life in many countries in Europe and worldwide. The initiative and referendum process offers extra channels for citizen participation and thus represents an important supplementary institution in modern democracies. This third volume of the series Direct Democracy in Modern Europe focuses on directdemocratic decisions on minority affairs. The main question is whether direct democracy tends towards a domination of the majority over a minority, producing new conflicts, or whether, how, and under what conditions it helps to solve problems in complex societies and leads to lasting solutions to political disputes. This volume includes articles by specialist researchers on

- historical experiences of direct-democratic decisions on territorial conflicts;

- theoretical considerations on direct democracy and minorities;

- case studies on popular votes concerning minority issues;

- several country case studies;

- the role of the media in direct-democratic campaigns on minority affairs;

- the potential of transnational direct democracy.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages 1-11
Front Matter....Pages 13-13
The Plebiscites in Carinthia and Sopron-Ödenburg after World War I – two Cases of Direct Democracy in Action....Pages 15-21
Popular Votes and Independence for Montenegro....Pages 22-30
Front Matter....Pages 31-31
The Emergence of Direct Democracy – a Typological Approach....Pages 33-46
Direct Democracy and the Rule of Law – Assessing a Tense Relationship....Pages 47-63
The Disruptive Potential of Direct Democracy in Deeply Divided Societies....Pages 64-73
Ethnic Governance and Direct Democracy: Perils and Potential....Pages 74-87
Front Matter....Pages 89-89
Direct Democracy, the Rule of Law and the Protection of Minorities: The Case of Hungary....Pages 91-105
Direct Democracy and Linguistic Minorities in Switzerland and South Tyrol – A Comparison....Pages 106-122
Minorities and Direct Democracy in the USA: Direct Legislation Concerning Minorities and Instruments of Minority Protection....Pages 123-144
Is the Irish Referendum a Majoritarian Device?....Pages 145-154
The Minaret Ban in Switzerland: An Exception to the Rule?....Pages 155-164
Minorities and Direct Democracy in Liechtenstein....Pages 165-180
Use of Direct Democracy in the Jura Conflict....Pages 181-193
Winning without Victory? The Media Coverage of Minority Affairs in Swiss Direct Democratic Campaigns....Pages 194-211
Front Matter....Pages 213-213
The Transnational Spillovers from Pledging EU Referendums: The Case of the European Constitution....Pages 215-229
Transnational Citizens’ Initiative – How Modern Direct Democracy can make the European Union a Better Place for Minorities....Pages 230-244
The Commission’s Regulation Proposal on the European Citizens’ Initiative....Pages 245-251
Back Matter....Pages 253-254

✦ Subjects

Political Science, general