Direct democracy in switzerland: do elites matter?

Abstract

Direct democratic institutions, while centrepieces of the Swiss political system, find themselves under attack. In this article, we challenge the widespread criticism that popular rights increasingly limit the political elite's control of the decision-making process. Our analysis is based on aggregate data of all acts voted on by the Swiss Parliament since 1947 -those brought about by popular initiatives or those subject to optional and mandatory referendumand on individual survey data on most federal votes held since 1981. We underline the high support of government and the impact of elite consensus on the destiny of legislative acts in the plebiscitary phase (submitted to a vote or not, subsequently accepted or not). While congruent with the aggregate analysis, results obtained at the individual level are less clear-cut. The influence of voting recommendations and information channels on the voter's decision appears rather weak.

Institutional Openness and the Use of Referendums and Popular Initiatives: Evidence from Swiss Cantons

“…if excluded from executive responsibilities, constantly challenge the government and parliamentary majority. If these parties are given executive power, then -so the argument 9 See Sciarini and Trechsel (1996) and Trechsel and Sciarini (1998) for a theoretical argument regarding the anticipation of the referendum threat in parliament, and for an empirical test of the link between parliamentary consensus and the acceptability of legislative acts in the plebiscitary arena. For an application of this test on the cantonal level, see Trechsel (2000).…”

Voting for Direct Democracy: Evidence from a Unique Popular Initiative in Bavaria

“…Moreover, partisanship increases the probability of forming opinions by statements of the political elite (Bowler and Donovan (1994); Eichenberger and Serna (1996) ;Stadelmann and Torgler (2013)). Results by Trechsel and Sciarini (1998) suggest an impact of political elites on voting outcomes in referenda and Smith and Tolbert (2001) argue that political party affiliation is the most important influence on voting decisions. For ballot initiatives, parties tend to become involved when the issue affects the party's ideology and parties attract voters by taking a side to withdraw voter support from another party (Smith and Tolbert (2001)).…”

Referendums Around the World

“…As is widely known, Switzerland's political system includes important elements of direct citizen participation for the creation, change and abolishment of binding legal norms. The mechanisms and functions of direct democracy are at the core of all political developments (Trechsel and Sciarini 1998). However, most legislation is passed by parliament without interference from the voters.…”