The Use of Government-Initiated Referendums in Latin America: Towards a Theory of Referendum Causes

Abstract

El uso de los referendos de iniciativa gubernamental en América Latina. Hacia una teoría sobre las causas del uso de votaciones populares iniciadas por el gobierno AnitA Breuer Department of Comparative Politics, University of Cologne ABstrActOver the past two decades there has been a considerable increase in the number of referendums worldwide. the existing literature on direct democracy has so far failed to explain this phenomenon by delivering a consistent theory on the causes of referendums. this explorative study aims at undertaking steps toward closing this gap by focusing on the specific type of facultative government-initiated referendums (FGir) and their use in presidential systems. using Qca (a case-sensitive technique based on the formal logic of Boolean algebra), this study systematically compares the political opportunity structures of 49 presidential systems from 12 Latin american countries to detect the factors that spurred or obstructed the occurrence of FGir. it concludes that FGir are closely linked to high levels of party system fragmentation and divided government, i.e. two factors which have long been deemed problematic in the context of presidential systems, while their obstruction is mainly owed to the specific constitutional provisions regulating the referendum device.Keywords: referéndums, Latin america, Fragmentation, direct democracy. Resumen En las últimas dos décadas ha existido alrededor del mundo un considerable aumento en el número de votaciones populares. Sin embargo, la literatura existente sobre democracia directa no ha sabido explicar el fenómeno mediante una teoría consistente de las causas de los referéndums. Este estudio exploratorio busca dar un paso adelante para cerrar esta brecha, enfocándose en los referendum facultativos iniciados por poderes políticos formales (facultative government-initiated referendums -FGIR

Does an Active Use of Mechanisms of Direct Democracy Impact Electoral Participation? Evidence from the U.S. States and the Swiss Cantons

“…See, Scarrow (2001); Bu¨tzer (2001); Breuer (2007Breuer ( , 2009and Mendez, Mendez, and Triga (2009). 5.…”

Self‐Governance in Latin America: To What Extent Can Citizens Make Policy via Direct Democracy?

“…8 For further discussion on the Costa Rica referendum on free trade, see Borges (2017), Cupples and Larios (2010), Ravent os (2008), and S anchez-Ancochea (2008). 9 Breuer (2009b) proposes that initiatives are binding only in Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Venezuela. This finding might have been a result of reading drafts of previous constitutions.…”

“… Breuer () proposes that initiatives are binding only in Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Venezuela. This finding might have been a result of reading drafts of previous constitutions.…”

‘Soft’ forms of direct democracy: Explaining the occurrence of referendum motions and advisory referendums in Finnish local government

“…Referendums are not, however, always initiated by lay citizens or their movements. The term government‐initiated referendum – the second institution this article studies – is used broadly to refer to popular votes put forward by representative bodies such as the legislature, executives, or the head of the state (Breuer ). In this article, ‘government’ refers specifically to local governments, not to the central government.…”

“…; Morel ; Qvortrup ; ; Setälä ). In this approach, the causes of direct democracy have usually been sought in the strategic motives of politicians aiming to maximize their power (Bjørklund ; Breuer ; Laisney ; Mendez et al. ; Møller ; Morel ; Rahat ; Smith ).…”