ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book covers all aspects of referendums and direct democracy. Referendums have always been reviled and revered. For some, referendums are almost synonymous with democracy. Even the descriptions of referendums in literature have suggested that referendums and plebiscites can be problematic. In spite of a general upward trend since the 1960s, the data make clear that referendums remain a very unusual process in most countries and the dramatic surge in the 1990s being mainly due to a few strong increasers and the rise of independent countries. Against the commonplace view that direct democracy weakens political parties, Stefan Vospernik argues that parties actually take benefit from referendums, by using them to overcome blockages, shirk responsibility or preserve unity. Finally, referendums are but one sub-set of an overall category of direct and semi-direct democracy.
