Direct Democracy Research Paper

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Anthony Uzuazokaro
Professor Virginia Rawl
English 1304
30 April, 2015

Exploring Direct Democracy and its Forms
Democracy in a general form is a system of government in which power is given to the people who rule directly or indirectly through representatives. In a democratic government, the input of those representing the citizens determines the fate of a country or state. There are two basic types of democracy and they are the representative democracy and direct democracy. Simply put, a representative democracy is a system of government where all the citizens vote on representatives that will take the responsibility to pass laws to them. However, direct democracy is the kind of democracy I encourage and support because it is the purest form …show more content…
The referendum is the process that permits citizens to reject proposals and laws made by the representatives but do not permit them to make their own decisions. Citizens of a state or local government are allowed to either accept or revoke a law by taking a vote on an issue. The referendum process includes a mass vote by the public on public issue. This process is used in so many situations; one of these situations is when a state has a constitutional issue. This can be as a result of a territorial breakup, in this case, the state needs to give proper acceptance (legitimacy) to any new arrangement or rules under which it is to operate in the future. This is achieved by a popular vote of endorsement by the citizens to show that they approve of the new arrangement. Another category where the referendum process is seen as a safe form of democracy is when the state addresses moral issues like the prohibition of alcohol, or divorce, or abortion. Contentious problems like these are being settled with the referendum process of direct democracy in some states in the United States. Ordinary citizens see the referendum as a way to enact laws with out the objections of the elected officials. Italy is reported to be one of the countries that have a significant usage of the referendum process and there have been considerable success in the use of this form of direct …show more content…
"Can a Social Issue Proposition Increase Political Knowledge? Campaign Learning and the Educative Effects of Direct Democracy." American Politics Research 40.6 (2012): 998-1025.
Budge, Ian. “The New Challenge of Direct Democracy”. Cambridge [England]; Cambridge, Mass: Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers, 1996. Ch. 3.
Lac, Ly T., and Edward L. Jr Lascher. "The Impact of Direct Democracy on Governance: A Replication and Extension." California Journal of Politics and Policy 5.1 (2013): 30-46.
Maduz, Linda. "Direct Democracy." Living Reviews in Democracy 2. (2010)
Smith, Mark A. "Ballot Initiatives and the Democratic Citizen." The Journal of Politics 64.3 (2002): 892-903.
Smith, Daniel A., and Caroline Tolbert. “Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States”. United States. 2004. Ch.1.
Smith, Daniel A., and Caroline Tolbert. “Educated by Initiative: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States”. United States. 2004. Ch. 3
Tridimas, George. "A Political Economy Perspective of Direct Democracy in Ancient Athens." Constitutional Political Economy 22.1 (2011): 58-82. ProQuest. Web. 9 May

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