Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan

How Referendums Challenge European Democracy

Brexit and Beyond

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Authors:
  1. Richard Rose

    1. Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Relevant to the debate about whether the EU has a democratic deficit
  • Places Brexit in a wider comparative context
  • Originally claims that referendums challenge the elite consensus that led to the referendums being called in the first place

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics (PSEUP)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. How Democratic Elections Differ

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 1-18

  3. How Referendums Differ from Each Other

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 19-36

  4. Europe’s Democratic Deficit and Democratic Surplus

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 37-58

  5. A Paradigm Shift in National Referendums on Europe

    • Fernando Mendez
    Pages 59-76

  6. When Institutions and Issues Change, Voting Changes

    • Ian McAllister, Richard Rose
    Pages 77-99

  7. How Politicians Ought to Talk About Europe: Lessons Learned from Experimental Evidence

    • Konstantin Vössing
    Pages 101-116

  8. Comparing Voting in National Referendums on EU Issues

    • Alexia Katsanidou, Slaven Živković
    Pages 117-133

  9. Britain: Still Searching for a Role in the World

    • Tim Oliver
    Pages 135-152

  10. Forecasting the Economic Consequences of Brexit

    • Paul Whiteley, Harold D. Clarke
    Pages 153-170

  11. Policy-Making in a Bounded Democracy

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 171-189

  12. The Failure of Parliamentary Government

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 191-207

  13. A New Prime Minister Meets Old Constraints

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 209-224

  14. Beyond Brexit in a World of Interdependence

    • Richard Rose
    Pages 225-236
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book explains how citizens are using referendums to challenge decisions taken by the European Union. The opening chapters compare the two chief institutions of electoral democracy: parliamentary elections to decide who governs, and referendums to decide policies. The EU relies on international treaties for its authority to make policies. Chapters analysing referendum voting on Europe in Britain, Greece and the Netherlands show that cultural values can have a stronger influence than class. The book uses Brexit – the British referendum in which a majority voted for the UK leaving the European Union – as the leading example of a conflict between national voters and the EU. However, taking back control of policymaking does not ensure effective policymaking when success depends not only on what the British Parliament does but also on decisions taken in Brussels, Washington and elsewhere. Boris Johnson’s electoral success is insufficient to deliver all his promises in the world beyond Brexit. The EU is challenged too, as its policies increasingly depend on what happens on other continents.

Reviews

"On both sides of the Channel, apparently secure democratic institutions are in trouble. Political legitimacy has been eroded by the unresolved conflicts between popular and representative democracy, between traditional incumbent parties and populist insurgents, and between often-complacent elites and increasingly sceptical electorates. The Brexit drama has not caused these problems, but it has both reflected and severely deepened them, especially in Britain. Richard Rose’s compelling, unsparing examination lays these problems bare. His analysis should be heeded by students and practitioners of politics alike." (Peter Kellner, Political Journalist and Co-founder of YouGov, UK)

"A volume on How Referendums Challenge European Democracy is to be welcomed. Direct democracy has come to play an increasingly important role in the dynamic of European integration, including the dramatic departure of a member state, the UK. This volume is a must-read on referendums and the structural limits of EU democracy." (Brigid Laffan, Director, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Italy)


"Taking as their starting point the observation that every national government is part of a network of political and economic interdependencies, Richard Rose and his colleagues bring together the study of democratic elections, the institutions of the European Union and the politics of Brexit. The analysis is consistently insightful and the references remarkably topical. To understand how political legitimacy is fragile in bounded democracies, this is an invaluable book." (Albert Weale, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Public Policy, University College London, UK)


Authors and Affiliations

  • Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    Richard Rose

About the author

Richard Rose has received many European awards for his pioneering books on comparative elections, public policy and British and European Union politics. He is Founder-Director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde, UK.

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation