Caroline Morris – författare

This book explores the unusual and unique experience of direct democracy in the small state of New Zealand, where referendums have been a persistent feature of the political landscape for over a century. Referendums have been the site of renewed interest from scholars, seeking to respond to what they term the "democratic deficit" in otherwise stable and functional Western democracies. They have also been at the heart of many divisive and important political and social moments in recent history, from the UK’s Brexit referendum in 2016 to the disputed legitimacy of the 2022 referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine. This book fills an important gap in the literature through an extended study of the law and practice of referendums in the small Commonwealth state of New Zealand. It also expands the field of small state democracy studies by applying the insights of this field to the direct democracy experience of a small state. With the inclusion of comprehensive tables of referendums and legislative materials, this book will be of interest to scholars of direct democracy and small states, politicians, legislators and policy makers, and all those with a desire to do democracy better.

This book explores the unusual and unique experience of direct democracy in the small state of New Zealand, where referendums have been a persistent feature of the political landscape for over a century. Referendums have been the site of renewed interest from scholars, seeking to respond to what they term the "democratic deficit" in otherwise stable and functional Western democracies. They have also been at the heart of many divisive and important political and social moments in recent history, from the UK’s Brexit referendum in 2016 to the disputed legitimacy of the 2022 referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine. This book fills an important gap in the literature through an extended study of the law and practice of referendums in the small Commonwealth state of New Zealand. It also expands the field of small state democracy studies by applying the insights of this field to the direct democracy experience of a small state. With the inclusion of comprehensive tables of referendums and legislative materials, this book will be of interest to scholars of direct democracy and small states, politicians, legislators and policy makers, and all those with a desire to do democracy better.

This book puts the spotlight on a different and neglected aspect of law drafting and reform: the question of size. Specifically, how does the size of a jurisdiction affect its ability to make and change its laws?

Some of the challenges affecting small jurisdictions include: a lack of resources and paucity of policy/drafting capacity; the pressures and pull from sources outside the jurisdiction (e.g. international bodies or NGOs; larger states; treaty commitments); a vulnerability to domestic capture (e.g. criminal elements, big local businesses, strong domestic lobby groups); weak/bad governance (e.g. laws or institutions which themselves do not encourage or promote good governance, reflection and reform); the legacy of colonial legal systems and their interaction with indigenous or customary laws; and struggles to comply with constitutional norms such as accountability and transparency. Despite these difficulties small jurisdictions also have certain advantages when it comes to making and reforming law: they can be flexible and creative; they can legislate very quickly if the political will is there; and there is strong informal/formal accountability in a small jurisdiction.

This edited collection explores law reform and law drafting in small jurisdictions through the themes of sovereignty; the impact of colonialism and legal plurality; the challenges of harmonising laws at regional and international levels; and constitutional reform. Of use to researchers and practitioners alike.