Minority-Veto Referendums: An Alternative to Bicameralism?

Author:

Bulmer W. Elliot1

Affiliation:

1. University of Glasgow

Abstract

This article discusses minority-veto referendum mechanisms as an alternative to bicameralism. Based on an examination of such mechanisms in the Scottish National Party's draft constitution for Scotland and in the constitutions of Denmark and Latvia, the article argues that such minority-veto referendums are ‘constraining’ rather than ‘consensual’ devices – they enable the actions of the parliamentary majority to be restrained and checked, but do not guarantee protection to permanent socio-cultural minorities. Minority-veto referendums are also unable to perform the full range of functions that can be provided by a strong second chamber – they cannot replace second chambers as a means of representing wider public interests or bringing specialist advice to bear on legislative decisions. The article concludes with the view that minority-veto referendum mechanisms cannot be regarded as a comprehensive substitute for strong bicameralism in all cases, but that they can nevertheless provide a means of checking the power of parliamentary majorities, and are particularly suitable for small and relatively homogeneous countries.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Political Science and International Relations

Cited by 4 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Setting the voting agenda for multi-option referendums: process variations and civic empowerment;Democratization;2020-10-22

2. Referendum Practice in Denmark;The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies;2019

3. The Potential of Direct Democracy: A Global Measure (1900–2014);Social Indicators Research;2016-07-08

4. The Scottish Constitutional Tradition: A Very British Radicalism?;Perspectives on Federalism;2015-11-01

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