The Rise of ‘Politically Obligatory' Referendums

The 2005 French Referendum in Comparative Perspective

Bibliographic Data

ID6407779
AuthorsLaurence Morel (0000-0002-6622-1290, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume30
Issue5
Pages1041-1067
Publication date2007-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402380701617449
OpenAlexW2045078093
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited19

This article compares the use of the referendum in France by the President of the Republic with its use at the initiative of governments in other democracies. It strengthens the current view of a specificity of French referendums, consisting in their power-reinforcing use by the president, and relates it to the personal initiative and the French institutional culture. But French referendums have had other functions as well, like ensuring the adoption of legislation or increasing its legitimacy. Moreover, the use of the referendum for a variety of political ends is a dominant feature of government-initiated referendums in all countries. A straightforward relation between the type of initiative and the type of use of the referendum cannot however be drawn, just as between the initiative, or the use, and the democratic quality of the referendum. The final section focuses on the 'politically obligatory' referendum: from being a political resource in the hands of governments, government-initiated referendums are increasingly forced upon them. Two different reasons – appropriateness and pressures – have been found to be conducive to such a political obligation. The decision by the French president to hold a referendum on the EC Constitutional Treaty, which is closely analysed, provides a clear example of a politically obligatory referendum, in contrast to the traditional entrepreneurial use of the referendum by the president. Some decisions by other governments to submit the treaty to the people can also be interpreted in this way

Democracy · Direct democracy · Government (linguistics · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Referendum · Sociology · Treaty · European and International Law Studies · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration

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