Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Table of Contents1. How Democratic Elections Differ
Richard Rose
2. How Referendums Differ From Each Other
Richard Rose
3. Europe’s Democratic Deficit and Democratic Surplus
Richard Rose
4. A Paradigm Shift in European Referendums
Fernando Mendez
5. When Institutions and Issues Change, Voting Changes
Ian McAllister and Richard Rose
6. How Politicians Ought to Talk about Europe: Five Lessons from Experiments
Konstantin Vössing
7. Comparing Voting in National Referendums on EU Issues
Alexia Katsanidou and Slaven Živković,
8. Britain: Still Searching for a Role in the World
Tim Oliver
9. Forecasting the Economic Impact of Brexit
Paul Whiteley and Harold D. Clarke
10. Policymaking in a Bounded Democracy
Richard Rose
11. The Failure of Parliamentary Government
Richard Rose
12. A New Prime Minister Meets Old Constraints
Richard Rose
13. Beyond Brexit in a World of Interdependence
Richard Rose
