Referendums and Representative Government

Abstract

Gordon Smith (1976, 3) argues that the classification of referendums along the subject-matter of the issues may only be descriptive, not analytical. Smith puts forward a threefold division: decisions on constitutional matters and others concerning the basic nature of the state; the determination of important lines in public policy; and the resolution of moral issues which have social rather than political salience. Möckli (1994, 153) distinguishes between those referendums which are about policy issues and those which are more about votes of confidence in political leaders. Möckli argues that when the referendum has the character of a vote of confidence, there are two types of referendums, non-competitive and competitive referendums. Non-competitive referendums are only an acclamation of the leader’s power and there are no real alternatives to giving the support to the leader (for example, Germany in the 1930s). In competitive votes of confidence, support for the leader is really put to a test. As an example of this kind, Möckli cites the referendum in Belgium in 1950 on the return of King Leopold II.