Tools of democracy or a device of dictators and demagogues? Whatever one’s views of referendums, they have become increasingly prevalent in many European countries in recent years. The reasons for holding referendums differ from state to state; they may result from constitutional requirements (e.g. in Ireland and Denmark) or from political choices, arising from politicians’ attempts to hold together divided parties (e.g. the 2016 Brexit referendum) or their desire to go directly to the people to demonstrate support for their preferred policies (e.g. Viktor Orbán’s repeated referendums in Hungary), with this last approach most likely to draw criticism from political opponents.

Referendums in Europe typically fall into a variety of categories: i) on constitutional matters; ii) on issues of social policy; iii) and EU-related, whether on accession, treaty reform, or even withdrawal. This last category can have major implications for the whole EU. Citizens of one country blocking a treaty can ensure that it falls (e.g. the Constitutional Treaty in 2005) even if the citizens of every other Member State wanted it ratified. Referendums within the EU can thus give some citizens far greater leverage than others; there is not a level playing-field and certainly not direct democracy for all.

Are referendums nonetheless one potential avenue to democratise and re-legitimise the Future of Europe? In this webinar, Julie Smith will talk about the pros and cons of referendums in the EU, based on her newest book “The Palgrave Handbook of European Referendums“, and consider whether there are ways to improve their use, for example, allowing pan-EU referendums on treaty ratification.