FEDERALISM AND REFERENDUMS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: DISENTANGLING A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
Corresponding author:
[email protected]
Received
11 January 2022
Revised
23 February 2023
Accepted
10 March 2023
Available Online
15 March 2023
Abstract
FEDERALISM AND REFERENDUMS REFER TO IMPORTANT POLICY DECISIONS IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES, BUT SO FAR, THEY HAVE BEEN ANALYSED SEPARATELY. THIS ARTICLE ADDRESSES THE GAP IN THE LITERATURE AND FOCUSES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERALISM AND THE USE OF REFERE NDUMS. IT AIMS TO SHOW HOW THE FEDERAL OR UNITARY SYSTEMS COULD INFLUENCE THE USE OF REFERENDUMS AT NATIONAL LEVE L. THE ANALYSIS COMPARES SIX COUNTRIES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION – AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, FRANCE, GERMANY, IRELAND AND ROMANIA – OUT OF WHICH THREE ARE FEDERAL AND THREE ARE UNITARY. THE DATA COMES FROM SECONDARY SOURCES THAT INCLUDE DATABASES ON DIRECT DEMOCRACY, COUNTRY REPORTS, OR WEBSITES OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS. THE STUDY COVERS THE MOST RECENT TWO DECADES. THE MAIN FINDINGS SHOW A LIMITED EFFECT OF F EDERALISM ON THE USE OF REFERENDUMS BUT PROVIDES SEVERAL IMPORTANT NUANCES THAT CAN BE USED BY FURTHER RESEARCH.
Keywords
FEDERALISM
REFERENDUMS
EUROPEAN UNION
CENTRALIZED COUNTRIES
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