Public Support for Direct Democracy: Procedural Preferences and Loser's Consent

Abstract

Research on direct democracy has evolved from treating direct democratic procedures as a monolithic standalone concept to a more nuanced exploration of different types of procedures and their interaction with representative democratic systems. Therefore, a universal judgement regarding the legitimacy of direct democracy seems premature as long as it does not reflect institutional variations and interactions. This panel takes steps towards a more nuanced understanding of the legitimacy of direct democratic procedures. To that end, papers in this panel examine citizens' perceptions on direct democracy from two different angles: The first angle scrutinizes citizens' preferences for direct democracy and how this interacts with their attitude towards representative institutions. The second angle investigates the role of direct democracy for citizens’ acceptance of political decisions, and in particular the consent of losers of such decisions.

Title	Details
Perceived Dysfunctioning of Political Representation and Process Preferences	View Paper Details
Can Direct Democracy Strengthen Democratic Legitimacy?	View Paper Details
Democratic Innovations and Electoral Legitimacy	View Paper Details
Direct Democracy in Context: How Direct-Democratic Institutions Interact with Representative Democracy	View Paper Details