Introduction to Referendum Authorization Procedures in Europe
Journal: Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks
Year: 2023

The first chapter provides an introduction to the book. It establishes the relevance of referendum authorization procedures as a research topic within direct-democracy research. It draws examples of the populist use of direct-democratic instruments to underline the necessity of the protection of rule of law through referendum design. The chapter also collects the relevant international guidelines on referendums and on referendum authorization. The chapter determines the scope of the research, th