Semi-direct democracy

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Semi-direct democracy is a type of democracy that combines the mechanisms of direct democracy and representative government. In semi-direct democracy, representatives administer daily governance, but citizens keep the sovereignty, being able to control their governments and laws through different forms of popular action: binding referendum, popular initiative, revocation of mandate, and public consultations. The first two forms—referendums and initiatives—are examples of direct legislation.

Contents

History

Modern-era citizen lawmaking began in the towns of Switzerland in the 13th century. In 1847, the Swiss added the "statute referendum" to their national constitution. They soon discovered that merely having the power to veto Parliament's laws was not enough. In 1891, they added the "constitutional amendment initiative". Swiss politics since 1891 have given the world a valuable experience base with the national-level constitutional amendment initiative. [1] In the past 120 years, more than 240 initiatives have been put to referendums. The populace has been conservative, approving only about 10% of these initiatives; in addition, they have often opted for a version of the initiative rewritten by government. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Application

A government is elected, but unlike the representative system, there are binding mechanisms of control, where the people take power and can veto laws of parliament, or propose new laws, which will subsequently be subject to a binding referendum. These mechanisms are the binding referendum and the popular legislative initiative. There are other mechanisms such as the revocation of the mandate, the avocation and the plebiscite. The main countries of application are Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, with no need to register, every citizen receives the ballot papers and information brochure for each vote, and can return it by post. Switzerland has various directly democratic instruments; votes (and elections) are organised about four times a year; here, to Berne's citizen in November 2008 about 5 national, 2 cantonal, 4 municipal referendums, and 2 elections (government and parliament of the City of Berne) to take care of at the same time. Swiss voting material.jpg
In Switzerland, with no need to register, every citizen receives the ballot papers and information brochure for each vote, and can return it by post. Switzerland has various directly democratic instruments; votes (and elections) are organised about four times a year; here, to Berne's citizen in November 2008 about 5 national, 2 cantonal, 4 municipal referendums, and 2 elections (government and parliament of the City of Berne) to take care of at the same time.

The pure form of direct democracy exists only in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. [6] The Swiss Confederation is a semi-direct democracy (representative democracy with strong instruments of direct democracy). [6] The nature of direct democracy in Switzerland is fundamentally complemented by its federal governmental structures (in German also called the Subsidiaritätsprinzip). [2] [3] [4] [5]

Landsgemeinde in Sarnen Landsgemeinde in Sarnen ETH-Bibliothek Com LC1265-003-001.tif
Landsgemeinde in Sarnen

Most western countries have representative systems. [6] Switzerland is a rare example of a country with instruments of direct democracy (at the levels of the municipalities, cantons, and federal state). Citizens have more power than in a representative democracy. On any political level citizens can propose changes to the constitution (popular initiative), or ask for an optional referendum to be held on any law voted by the federal, cantonal parliament and/or municipal legislative body. [7]

The list for mandatory or optional referendums on each political level are generally much longer in Switzerland than in any other country; for example any amendment to the constitution must automatically be voted on by the Swiss electorate and cantons, on cantonal/communal levels often any financial decision of a certain substantial amount decreed by legislative and/or executive bodies as well. [7]

Swiss citizens vote regularly on any kind of issue on every political level, such as financial approvals of a school house or the building of a new street, or the change of the policy regarding sexual work, or on constitutional changes, or on the foreign policy of Switzerland, four times a year. [8] Between January 1995 and June 2005, Swiss citizens voted 31 times, on 103 federal questions besides many more cantonal and municipal questions. [9] During the same period, French citizens participated in only two referendums. [6]

In Switzerland, simple majorities are sufficient at the municipal and cantonal level, but at the federal level double majorities are required on constitutional issues. [1]

A double majority requires approval by a majority of individuals voting, and also by a majority of cantons. Thus, in Switzerland a citizen-proposed amendment to the federal constitution (i.e. popular initiative) cannot be passed at the federal level if a majority of the people approve but a majority of the cantons disapprove. [1] For referendums or propositions in general terms (like the principle of a[ clarify ] general revision of the Constitution), a majority of those voting is sufficient (Swiss Constitution, 2005).

In 1890, when the provisions for Swiss national citizen lawmaking were being debated by civil society and government, the Swiss adopted the idea of double majorities from the United States Congress, in which House votes were to represent the people and Senate votes were to represent the states. [1] According to its supporters, this "legitimacy-rich" approach to national citizen lawmaking has been very successful. Kris Kobach claims that Switzerland has had tandem successes both socially and economically which are matched by only a few other nations. Kobach states at the end of his book, "Too often, observers deem Switzerland an oddity among political systems. It is more appropriate to regard it as a pioneer." Finally, the Swiss political system, including its direct democratic devices in a multi-level governance context, becomes increasingly interesting for scholars of European Union integration. [10]

Related Research Articles

Politics of Switzerland Political system of Switzerland

Switzerland is a semi-direct democratic federal republic. Since 2011 the leading parties are from the right wing. The federal legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly, the National Council and the Council of States. The Federal Council holds the executive power and is composed of seven power-sharing Federal Councillors elected by the Federal Assembly. The judicial branch is headed by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, whose judges are elected by the Federal Assembly.

A referendum is a direct vote by the electorate on a particular proposal or issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. It can have nationwide or local forms. This may result in the adoption of a new policy or specific law. In some countries, it is synonymous with or commonly known by other names including a plebiscite, votation,popular consultation, ballot question, ballot measure, or proposition.

Direct democracy Form of democracy where people decide on policy without proxy representatives

Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislative representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are representative democracies. The theory and practice of direct democracy and participation as its common characteristic was the core of work of many theorists, philosophers, politicians, and social critics, among whom the most important are Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, and G.D.H. Cole.

Initiative Means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.

In the politics of the United States, the process of initiatives and referendums allow citizens of many U.S. states to place new legislation, or to place legislation that has recently been passed by a legislature on a ballot for a popular vote. Initiatives and referendums, along with recall elections and popular primary elections, are signature reforms of the Progressive Era; they are written into several state constitutions, particularly in the West. It is a form of direct democracy.

Elections in Luxembourg are held to determine the political composition of the representative institutions of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a liberal representative democracy, with universal suffrage guaranteed under the constitution. Elections are held regularly, and are considered to be fair and free.

Swiss Federal Constitution Constitution of the Swiss Confederation

The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights, delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government.

Voting in Switzerland is the process by which Swiss citizens make decisions about governance and elect officials. The history of voting rights in Switzerland mirrors the complexity of the nation itself. The polling stations are opened on Saturdays and Sunday mornings but most people vote by post in advance. At noon on Sunday, voting ends and the results are usually known during the afternoon.

Referendums in New Zealand

Referendums are held only occasionally by the Government of New Zealand. Referendums may be government-initiated or held in accordance with the Electoral Act 1993 or the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993. Nineteen referendums have been held so far. Fourteen were government-led, and five were indicative citizen initiatives.

National initiative Organization

The National initiative is a proposed process to petition an initiative at the federal level in the United States via a national vote on the national ballot measure. While some U.S. states allow direct or indirect initiatives, there are currently no national initiatives in the United States.

A referendum was held in Switzerland on 13 February 2011 on the federal popular initiative "For the protection against gun violence". It was rejected by 56% of voters and a majority of cantons.

The history of direct democracy amongst non-Native Americans in the United States dates from the 1630s in the New England Colonies. Many New England towns still carry on that tradition in the form of open town meetings.

Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote in federal elections after a referendum in February 1971. The first federal vote in which women were able to participate was the 31 October 1971 election of the Federal Assembly. In 1991 following a decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Appenzell Innerrhoden became the last Swiss canton to grant women the vote on local issues. Appenzell Innerrhodenis the smallest Swiss canton with c. 14,100 inhabitants in 1990.

Four referendums were held in Switzerland during 1903. The first was held on 15 March on a federal law on tariffs, and was approved by 59.6% of voters. The second, third and fourth were all held on 25 October concerning an amendment to the federal criminal law, a popular initiative on Swiss residents electing the National Council and an amendment to article 32bis of the constitution. All three were rejected by voters.

Referendums in Germany are an element of direct democracy. On the federal level only two types of a mandatory binding referendum exist – adopting a new constitution and regional referendums in case of restructuring the states. On the state level, all states have various types of statewide and municipal referendums.

Eleven national referendums were held in Switzerland during 2013. Voters approved six proposals related to spatial planning, executive pay, family policy, amendments to the laws on asylum and epidemics and an increase in the length of petrol station shop opening hours. The other five proposals on directly electing the Federal Council, abolishing compulsory military service, limiting salaries in a company to 12 times the lowest paid worker, tax credits for stay-at-home parents and an increase in road tax were rejected.

A mandatory referendum, also known as an obligatory referendum, is a referendum that must be held as a legal requirement in certain circumstances or in order to perform certain governmental actions. This is in contrast to an optional referendum, which comes from either by public or legislative request. The actions that require mandatory referendums are set in law and normally concern matters of major public significance. The most commonly found example is a required referendum to adopt or amend a national constitution, which exists in many countries.

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.

Citizens initiative referendum (France)

The Référendum d'initiative Citoyenne is the name given to the proposal for a constitutional amendment in France to permit consultation of the citizenry by referendum concerning the proposition or abrogation of laws, the revocation of politicians' mandates, and constitutional amendment.

Massachusetts has several forms of direct democracy, allowing for initiative and referendums at the state level and in many municipalities. The recall of public officials is also provided for in many municipalities.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kobach 1993
  2. 1 2 Hirschbühl (2011a).
  3. 1 2 Hirschbühl (2011b).
  4. 1 2 Hirschbühl (2011c).
  5. 1 2 Hirschbühl (2011d).
  6. 1 2 3 4 Vincent Golay and Mix et Remix, Swiss political institutions, Éditions loisirs et pédagogie, 2008. ISBN   978-2-606-01295-3.
  7. 1 2 "Referendums". ch.ch – A service of the Confederation, cantons and communes. Berne, Switzerland: Swiss Confederation. Archived from the original on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  8. ↑ Julia Slater (28 June 2013). "The Swiss vote more than any other country". Berne, Switzerland: swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  9. ↑ Duc-Quang Nguyen (17 June 2015). "How direct democracy has grown over the decades". Berne, Switzerland: swissinfo.ch – the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
  10. ↑ Trechsel (2005)

Bibliography

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