Referendumul - între utilitate și populism
Referendum – between utility and populism

Summary/Abstract: Without any doubt, the referendum is the purest manifestation of democracy, a living reminiscence of direct democracy, by means of which the nation exercises its sovereignty, having the possibility to participate directly to the settlement of a country’s most important issues. In this context, referendum appears to be a modality of the political leaders to overcome an impasse in a state’s life by consolidating their relationship with the people whose interest they represent. Thus, from this perspective, the referendum is a harmonious way to win for both parties. Notwithstanding, what happens if one of the parties uses this instrument by placing the common interest in the shadow of its own interest? How easily might one derail such finality of the referendum? Both most recent examples of referendums used within different parts of the world and earlier examples thereof prove there is a fine line between legitimate use of referendum and abusive use thereof with populist purposes. The objective of this article is to identify the limit between the utility of referendum and populism in the light of the most recent use of this constitutional instrument, the harmful effects of derailing the finality of the referendum, as well as the most suitable measures for avoiding such derailing.

• Details
• Contents