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Week 6: Direct Democracy (Lupia and Matsusaka: Voters are more competent…
Week 6: Direct Democracy
Papadopoulos: Political actors do modify their behaviour in response to the threat of direct democracy
3 responses
- Grand coalition: co-opt parties that are likely to make use of DD, so that they do not
- Negotiate ex ante: At the crafting stage, before a bill is up for discussion in parliament, the government consults all groups which may have an interest in the issue. Inputs are taken into consideration, but if there is too much resistance, the bill may be dropped.
- Negotiate ex post: after a R/I is initiated, negotiate with the initiators to persuade them to drop the R/I by offering concessions (e.g legislative amendments)
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Bowler et al: Is support for DD because voters are disaffected, or because they prefer a more active role in politics?
Support for having more general opportunities to participate in democracy is motivated by a distrust of government --> citizens have to keep watch over the government
Disaffected citizen model: distrust of officials --> so citizens have to play the role of govt watchdog
Populist model: US citizens supported DD in an era where politicians were corrupt and unresponsive --> DD as a way to force legislatures to be more responsive
Support for having more referendums (specifically) is due to citizens being more interested in politics and wanting more opportunities to participate
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Lupia and Matsusaka: Voters are more competent than critics think, and the effect of money on DD is not that bad
Types of DD
Referendum: approve, reject laws and constitutional amendments
Petition referendum: citizens collect signatures, challenge laws already approved
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Advisory referendum: drafted by govt to gauge public opinion, no policy implication
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Implementation of DD: may not be implemented smoothly or have intended effect: those that drafted the R/I did not provide clear instructions, neither are they involved in the implementation process, and they may not have included sufficiently harsh sanctions on those who do not follow directions
Voter competency
Voters can use information shortcuts (by looking at the policy positions of parties and interest groups) to make decisions similar to what they would have if they were more informed --> voters are more knowledgeable and trustworthy than critics think
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Role of money: Different spending by different types of interest groups have different effects --> doesn't mean that money can push through all measures
Business associations have more access to cash --> research shows that increased spending by these groups are more effective in leading to the measure's defeat, but ineffective in gaining success
Citizen groups have more access to volunteer labour --> research shows that spending by citizen groups are more effective in passing measures