Voting beyond vetoing:Variations in agenda-setting and balloting procedures for multi-option referendums

Referendums most commonly occur in a binary format in which citizens either accept or reject a policy proposal. In practice, many voters are unlikely to be fully satisfied with either of these two options. They may have reservations about the policy or may only be willing to accept it conditional on some amendments. A binary referendum does not allow voters to express preferences for variations on the policy proposal. This may cause voters to reject a proposal despite being in favour of new policy on the topic. Such a rejection also makes it difficult for policymakers to adequately interpret a referendum outcome. Multi-option referendums could be an effective alternative, as they offer voters a choice between three or more policy options. They result in a single winning option which details the most desired policy route. Compared to binary referendums, multi-option formats have several advantages but also face several challenges, neither of which have been structurally analysed in prior research. Through four academic articles, this thesis explores various design questions relevant to multi-option referendums. The findings contribute to our insights into the implications of design variations for the empowerment of citizens and the materialisation of clear voting outcomes. This research considers two different phases of the referendum process. First, the agenda-setting phase raises the question of who decides when a multi-option referendum is held and which topics and policy proposals are on the ballot. Secondly, the balloting phase raises questions on how votes are expressed on the different options and how they are combined into a final result. The practical manifestations of various advantages and challenges in the two phases are explored by analysing both empirical experiences and new survey data. The empirical research presents a new dataset of national-level multi-option referendums. It discusses what we can learn from how multi-option referendums have been designed and conducted in practice. It also maps different processes of agenda-setting and explores the role of citizens in this phase. The survey research structurally compares the effects of different balloting variations in two separate studies. The first study compares voting on referendum ballots using a single question or multiple questions. The second study compares voting results between a multi-option ballot and a binary ballot. The research findings imply that multi-option referendums can be an effective instrument for citizen participation when more than two policy scenarios are possible and enjoy support. They can empower citizens both as voters, being offered more choice, and as agenda-setters, enabling them to contribute to the ballot content. Variations in terms of who selects the ballot options and which methods are used to vote on the options each have their own advantages and limitations. The optimal choice may depend on the context and desirable characteristics of the referendum. One general and pressing recommendation for balloting is to use voting methods in which voters can vote for more than one proposal. With such alternative voting methods, voters can either approve of several proposals or rank them according to their relative preferences. This greatly increases the likelihood of yielding a clear majority outcome. The thesis concludes that though not all referendums may benefit from a multi-option format, the multi-option format should be seriously considered. It maintains the advantages of referendums as an accessible instrument to participate in policymaking on a concrete topic, whilst providing more choice to voters and greater clarity on preferred policy routes. The findings on the characteristics of various ballot designs, voting methods and agenda-setting models can help practitioners and academics to evaluate the relative advantages and limitations of various multi-option designs and to weigh them against the simpler but also more limitative binary referendum design

Elected Mayors: Leading Locally?

The directly elected executive mayor has been with us in England for more than a decade. Drawing inspiration from European and American experience (see Elcock and Fenwick, 2007) the elected mayor has appealed to both Labour and Conservative commentators in offering a solution to perceived problems of local leadership. For the Left, it offered a reinvigoration of local democracy, a champion for the locality who could stand up for the community: in one early pamphlet, a Labour councillor envisaged that an elected mayor could “...usher in a genuinely inclusive way of doing civic business as well as giving birth to an institution that encourages and values people” (Todd, 2000: 25). For the Right, it offered the opportunity to cut through the lengthy processes of local democratic institutions by providing streamlined high-profile leadership. Although inconsistent in their expectations of what the new role of executive mayor would bring, Left and Right shared a view that leadership of local areas was failing. Despite the very low turnout in referendums on whether to adopt the system, and the very small number of local areas that have done so, the prospect of more executive mayors, with enhanced powers, refuses to exit the policy arena

The end of the beginning? Taking forward local democratic renewal in the post-referendum North East.

This article draws upon the author’s commissioned research on the nature of regional governance following the 2004 Referendum in the North East on elected regional assemblies. The article aimed to both capture these views and to assess how the ‘No vote in the referendum has impacted on subsequent developments in sub-national governance. The article provides both an empirical overview of recent developments and engages with the wider conceptual debates on democratic renewal. The arguments covered in this output are aimed at both academic and practitioner audiences, and have been also disseminated at regional and national conferences

Revisiting the 'Missing Middle' in English Sub-National Governance

In the light of the new Coalition Government’s proposed ‘rescaling’ of sub-national governance away from the regional level, it is an opportune time to re-consider the strength and weaknesses of the city or sub-regional approach to economic development and to search, once more, for the ‘missing middle’ in English Governance. In this context, the article initially assesses the case for city or sub regions as tiers of economic governance, before examining the lessons to be learnt from the experiences of the existing city regions in the North East of England. It argues that while contemporary plans to develop Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) can be usefully considered within the context of the emerging city regional developments under the previous Labour Governments, a number of important challenges remain, particularly in relation to ensuring accountable structures of governance, a range of appropriate functions, adequate funding, and comprehensive coverage across a variety of sub-regional contexts. While the proposals of the new Government create the necessary ‘space’ to develop sub-regional bodies and offer genuine opportunities for both city and county LEPs, the scale of the sub-regional challenge should not be underestimated, particularly given the context of economic recession and major reductions in the public sector

Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback

Elections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another. They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections. Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is inconceivable. Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant (Blockmans, 2020). Recent developments in certain EU member states have again shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write: “Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018)

It is up to the government: political lessons learnt from the 2016 Brexit referendum

The arduous process of withdrawing the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) began shortly after the Brexit referendum in June 2016. The “leave” vote plunged the British government into an existential crisis and led to dramatic special summits at the EU level. Looking at the British exit vote against the history of EU-related referendums reveals its peculiarities and pitfalls. The resulting mandate left the government some room for manoeuvre and initially offered plenty of options for its negotiations with Brussels. However, the government in London was not able to translate the tight "No" vote into a viable negotiating position. The EU insisted on negotiating exclusively with Her Majesty's Government. Paradoxically, referendums in member states illustrate the European multi-level system's dependence on states. Member states and the EU can both learn lessons by observing the British government’s handling of the exit referendum. (Autorenreferat

Nepal\u27s Protracted Democratization in Terms of Modes of Transition

Since 2005, Nepal has been engaged in a complex political transition that has resulted in the termination of Nepal’s 240 year old monarchy. Currently, the progress of Nepal’s political transition confronts the dual challenges of writing a constitution and mainstreaming the Maoists and their thousands of combatants, who had engaged in a decade long insurgency against the state. Growing differences between the radical Maoists and Nepal’s other political parties have repeatedly blocked Nepal’s attempt to institutionalize democracy. How does one study Nepal’s democratic transition? How does Nepal’s case relate to the wider scholarship on transition to democracy? This article critically applies the modes of transition approach to analyze Nepal’s various political transitions. The modes of transition approach with its emphasis on elite interactions during periods of transition and their enduring impact of such interactions on the regime that emerges offers a valuable analytical framework to examine series of transitions in Nepal. Many of the initial assumptions of the modes of transitions approach deriving from the experiences of Southern Europe and Latin America have recently been reexamined in the context of democratic transitions in Eastern Europe. Do Nepal’s transitions resonate with earlier patterns of third wave democratizations in Southern Europe and Latin America or do they show greater similarity with what some describe as the fourth wave of democratic transitions in post-communist Eastern Europe? This article critically applies the major premises of this approach to Nepali case assessing their validity as well as shortcomings. The central thesis underlying this paper is that the modes of transition approach, though useful in its focus on the crucial role of actors and strategies as key to understanding Nepal’s political transition, fails to account for several critical factors such as the role of external actors, the positive role of mass mobilization and leading democratic agenda of radical forces. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section lays out the theoretical framework related to the modes of transition; the second part examines Nepal’s transitions applying the key concepts of modes of transition approach; and the third section presents a critical assessment of problems and prospects of consolidation of Nepal’s current efforts to achieve a democratic system

Managing post-disaster reconstruction finance -- international experience in public financial management

In recent years, natural and man-made disasters have confronted the international community with its most demanding reconstruction challenges since the aftermath of World War II. Managing the inflow of resources and spending those resources well have proven to be two of the main difficulties in such reconstruction projects, particularly after large-scale disasters. A central dilemma of the public financial management of reconstruction is the need for very high levels of accountability to demonstrate fiduciary credibility, while at the same time ensuring the rapid implementation of recovery programs. This paper identifies options and lessons for managing post-disaster reconstruction finance in three key areas: (i) the establishment of special institutions to manage the reconstruction process; (ii) the selection of public financial management systems with respect to the application of country systems, special fiduciary arrangements, or donor/NGO execution; and (iii) monitoring and evaluation systems. The authors synthesize the phasing of assistance and approaches in eight recent post-natural disaster reconstruction efforts (Aceh-Indonesia, Yogyakarta-Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Pakistan, Colombia, Grenada, and Honduras) to help guide the priorities and options for future instances of public financial management for disaster reconstruction. The paper also compares the challenges posed by post-conflict versus post-natural disaster public financial management.Natural Disasters,Disaster Management,Post Conflict Reconstruction,Social Accountability,Post Conflict Reintegration

The ratification of European Treaties: Legal and constitutional basis of a European Referendum

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