Comparing Public Support for Referendums Before and After the 2014-2016 Anti-EU Referendums

Using data from the 2012 European Social Survey and the 2017 POLPART survey we compare public support for the use of referendums in Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, and Hungary before and after the national referendums on Mass Immigration, EU-Ukraine Relations, Brexit, and the EU Migrant Relocation Plan. We find that referendum support is stronger among citizens at the margins of politics (politically disaffected, Eurosceptic and xenophobic individuals). Between 2012 and 2017 public support for referendums declined in all four countries but to a greater extent in the Netherlands. Our results suggest that in the Netherlands, the UK, and Hungary referendum support became more strongly linked to citizens at the margins of politics (politically disaffected, xenophobic, and low-income individuals) in 2017 than in 2012.