Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy
  • Cited by 23
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
December 2018
Print publication year:
2018
Online ISBN:
9781108634397
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108634397
Subjects:
Political Theory, Politics and International Relations, Comparative Politics
Information

Book description

Standing out from all other books on direct democracy, Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy connects the study of direct democracy to the broader field of comparative democratization and to an important strand in normative democratic theory. Analyzing the relationship between direct democracy and representative government, this book is organized around three main sections: the origins of contemporary direct democracy, its functioning, and the ways to improve the use of direct democracy and its abuse. David Altman argues that citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy constitute an important and viable way to re-invigorate current representative regimes by strengthening democracies' normative foundations - freedom and equity among citizens - which are particularly fragile in the context of unequal societies. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy demonstrates how citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy empowers citizens, channels social demands, defuses violence, re-enchants citizens with politics, and breaks through some of the institutionalized barriers to accountability that arise in representative systems.

Reviews

'Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy offers a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the origins and effects of popular initiatives, referenda, and other forms of direct democracy. Altman makes a compelling case, and shows that the impact of popular initiatives extends well beyond the often attention-grabbing election outcomes. Those of us who care about the fate of liberal democracy should pay close attention.'

Steven Levitsky - Harvard University, Massachusetts

'Deftly combining historical case studies and broad cross-national statistical overviews, author David Altman challenges misperceptions about direct democracy and shows that it can augment representative democracy by cultivating consensus-building and increasing citizen engagement. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy combines depth and breadth to tackle an important issue of our time and should be read by anyone interested in improving the quality of democracy around the world today.'

Pamela Paxton - Linda K. George and John Wilson Professor of Sociology, University of Texas, Austin

'David Altman’s new book on direct democracy blends theoretical insights with descriptive facility, presenting a thorough analysis of the remedial properties and potentials of direct democratic institutions within the institutional framework of representative democracy. I cannot think of another scholar as well qualified as David Altman to write a book of this kind, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.'

Adrian Vatter - Chair of Swiss Politics, Institute of Political Science, University of Bern

'This precisely theorized, empirically sophisticated, and normatively attentive book is required reading for anyone interested in how and whether mechanisms of direct democracy might deepen democracy within representative political systems. Timely and important for an era in which mechanisms of direct democracy are an increasingly popular response to disillusionment with representative democracy.'

Mark E. Warren - Merilees Chair for the Study of Democracy, University of British Columbia

‘Altman’s book is a tour de force: it is a study that combines statistical prowess with exceptional scholarship and an extraordinary knowledge of the literature in Spanish, German, Italian, and English. In addition to its impressive statistical analyses, the book cites interesting and often surprising research findings … does a superb job in empirically debunking many common myths about referendums … this is an impressive study.’

Matt Qvortrup Source: Perspectives on Politics

‘… Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy ‘is not just a book about direct democracy; it is a book about democracy, its functioning, its institutions and its innovations’.’

Luca Mencacci Source: Democratization

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

Accessibility standard: Unknown

Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.