When do Citizens Approve Policies? Clarifying Variation in National Level Referendums across Europe

The concept of a referendum’s success has been defined so far merely on the basis of its approval or rejection at the ballot. However, this viewpoint does not account for various turnout and approval quorums that accompany most of popular votes. This paper moves beyond the conventional definition of success and introduces instead a more nuanced degree of approval aiming at explaining the factors that drive support for referendum policies. The analysis is conducted at country level using an original data set that covers 283 national level referendums in Europe between 2000 and 2019. It tests the influence of the initiator, legal status of a vote, previous experience with direct democracy, East-West divide and mimetism.