Direct democracy

Matt Qvortrup is Professor of Political Science at Coventry University and holds the James Walston Chair of International Relations at the American University of Rome

As we hurtle forward into the twenty-first century with its unparalleled availability of information and communication technology, the world's great democracies continue to be organized around eighteenth-century principles of representative governance. Professor Qvortrup's new book illustrates the powerful new modes of direct political participation that are emerging around the globe – most important, the initiative and referendum – and shows how democratic government can be updated and augmented to better meet the challenges of our modern world.Professor John Matsusaka, Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise at the University of Southern CaliforniaThe originality and great value of the book lies in the ability of the author to step back from traditional constitutional or political scientist approaches of the subject, and to view the referendum in its present, contemporary, context... [and] the insightful analysis of the conception of direct democracy among political thinkers...like Machiavelli or Marsilius of Padua, Condorcet and Carl Schmitt.Professor Laurence Morel, University of Lille, France

• Introduction: Bespoke Democracy1. The political theory of direct democracy: the theoretical justification for citizen involvement 2. Citizen initiated referendums: an empirical assessment3. The legislative initiative: a comparative analysis of the experiences in EU countries4. Hasta la vista: a comparative institutionalist analysis of the recall5. Can the voters be trusted: the case of European integration? 6. Rebels without a cause? a case study of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty7. The British referendum on the Alternative Vote in comparative perspective8. Judicial review of direct democracy9. Regulation of direct democracy international impressions, tendencies and patternsConclusion: The age of supply-side politics?