Contested Sovereignty: Mapping Referendums on the Reallocation of Sovereign Authority over Time and Space

To date, researchers have counted more than 200 referendums on sovereignty ranging from disparate issues such as self-determination and secession through to the process of European integration. However, existing compilations tend to suffer from definitional vagueness as well as incomplete coverage. On the basis of an improved conceptualisation we present a new dataset of over 500 sovereignty referendums between 1789-2012. Two overarching dimensions are uncovered relating to (1) the aspects of sovereignty at stake and (2) whether integrative versus disintegrative dynamics are at play. The analytical framework provides explanatory leverage for tracing the changing nature of the referendum device during distinct historical epochs, identifying patterns of deployment over time and connecting the recent proliferation of sovereignty referendums with broader structural processes in the international political landscape whereby the referendum is increasingly used as a legitimating device for redrawing territorial boundaries and reconfiguring functional competencies across layers of political authority.