ABSTRACT
The introductory chapter outlined the main questions on the relationship between referendums and representative democracy – that is, how referendums influence responsiveness, accountability and deliberation; and which of the two scenarios put forward in Table 1.1 has greater relevance. These concluding remarks summarize the lessons from the various chapters of the book, and some links are made to the previous literature on referendums. First, the institutional and structural context of referendums is outlined, including variations of representative democracy and referendums. Second, various types of referendums are analysed in order to answer the question of whether they might have different impacts in their interaction with the representative system. Some observations are made on the process of public deliberation in referendum campaigns. Finally, a few ideas for future research will be mentioned.
