The Puzzle of Double Referendums in the European Union

Atikcan, Ece Özlem

doi:10.1111/jcms.12239

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(33 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This boosts the visibility of the ‘No’ campaign's arguments, even when most parties are in favour of the EU treaty, increasing the asymmetrical political advantage further. Although the literature hints that the interpretation of this law could have had an impact on the referendum debate, this peculiarity does not correlate with the referendum outcomes in the cases under study (Atikcan : 13).…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Second, in the Danish Maastricht Treaty referendums, the Socialist People's Party switched from the anti‐treaty side to the pro‐treaty side in the second referendum. Yet, a detailed debate in the literature links these issues to campaign information, arguing that these divisions and shifts nuanced the campaign information available to the public (e.g., Atikcan ; Hobolt ; Svensson ). This aspect is captured through the interview data.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agenda control in EU referendum campaigns: The power of the anti‐EU side

Atikcan

2017

European J Political Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. European Union (EU) referendums provide unique opportunities to study voters' attitudes toward a distant level of governance. Scholars have long tried to understand whether EU referendum results reflect domestic (dis-)satisfaction with the incumbent governments or actual attitudes toward the Union. Finding evidence supporting both domestic and European factors, the recent focus has thus turned to referendum campaigns. Recent studies emphasise the importance of the information provided to voters during these campaigns in order to analyse how domestic or European issues become salient in the minds of voters. These studies nonetheless overlook the asymmetrical political advantage in such campaigns. The broader literature on referendums and public opinion suggest that in a referendum, the 'No' side typically has the advantage since it can boost the public's fears by linking the proposal to unpopular issues. This article explores whether this dynamic applies to EU treaty ratification referendums. Does the anti-EU treaty campaign have more advantage than the pro-EU treaty campaign in these referendums? Campaign strategies in 11 EU treaty ratification referendums are analysed, providing a clear juxtaposition between protreaty ('Yes') and anti-treaty ('No') campaigns. Based on 140 interviews with campaigners in 11 referendums, a series of indicators on political setting and campaign characteristics, as well as an in-depth case study of the 2012 Irish Fiscal Compact referendum, it is found that the anti-treaty side indeed holds the advantage if it engages the debate. Nonetheless, the findings also show that this advantage is not unconditional. The underlying mechanism rests on the multidimensionality of the issue. The extent to which the referendum debate includes a large variety of 'No' campaign arguments correlates strongly with the campaigners' perceived advantage/disadvantage, and the referendum results. When the 'No' side's arguments are limited (either through a single-issue treaty or guarantees from the EU), this provides the 'Yes' side with a 'cleaner' agenda with which to work. Importantly, the detailed data demonstrate that the availability of arguments is important for the 'Yes' side as well. They tend to have the most advantage when they can tap into the economic costs of an anti-EU vote. This analysis has implications for other kinds of EU referendums such as Brexit, non-EU referendums such as independence referendums, and the future of European integration.

show abstract

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Agenda control in EU referendum campaigns: The power of the anti‐EU side

Atikcan

2017

European J Political Res

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We depart from these studies by demonstrating that terrorism not only affects party preferences, but also public support for broader political and economic issues, such as European integration. At the same time, studies on EU-related referendums show status quo bias because voters are concerned about drastic economic consequences (Atikcan 2015), but ignore changes in preferences when voters are cued on potentially drastic public security consequences.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Did Terrorism Affect Voting in the Brexit Referendum?

Bove

Efthyvoulou

Pickard

2021

Brit. J. Polit. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article contributes to the recent research on Brexit and public opinion formation by contending that the determinants of the referendum results should be evaluated against the background of wider public security concerns. The British public has long regarded terrorism as a top concern, more so than in any other European country. Terrorist attacks on UK soil raised voters' awareness of security issues and their saliency in the context of the EU referendum. The study finds that locations affected by terrorist violence in their proximity exhibit an increase in the share of pro-Remain votes, particularly those that experienced more sensational attacks. Using individual-level data, the results show that in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, citizens are more likely to reconsider the security risks involved in leaving the EU.

show abstract

Populism and Referendum: The Italian Debate from a Comparative Perspective

Martinico

2020

Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Puzzle of Double Referendums in the European Union

Cited by 9 publications

References 28 publications

Agenda control in EU referendum campaigns: The power of the anti‐EU side

Agenda control in EU referendum campaigns: The power of the anti‐EU side

Did Terrorism Affect Voting in the Brexit Referendum?

Populism and Referendum: The Italian Debate from a Comparative Perspective

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About