Can the "People" Decide (in Europe)? Uses, Abuses and Fear of Referendums
Can the "People" Decide (in Europe)? Uses, Abuses and Fear of Referendums
Author(s): Iancu BogdanSubject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
Published by: Universul Juridic
Keywords: liberal constitutionalism; fear of ‘the People’; transformations of the state; revival of direct democracy in Europe;
Summary/Abstract: Recent constitutional evolutions in Romania, Hungary, the UK, Spain, and Turkey have fostered a fair deal of debate and raised concerns about the use of referenda to illiberal ends, namely, to trump deliberation and emphasize popular sovereignty as a gag rule. The paper discusses, in exploratory form, the wider contextual reasons for the revival of direct democracy in the homogenous space of the EU. A first section of the argument reviews the relevant theoretical premises and practical approaches of classical, liberal, nation state constitutionalism.
Journal: Revista Română de Drept Comparat
- Issue Year: 2018
- Issue No: 01
- Page Range: 262-272
- Page Count: 11
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF
