Are referendums ever a good idea?
The UK's vote to leave the EU has thrown the country into turmoil. Elsewhere, they have people's votes all the time. So when, where and why does direct democracy work?
This week was another dramatic one in the long-running saga of Brexit, with the possibility of a second referendum to solve the political impasse created by the first still widely discussed. Meanwhile on Sunday in Cuba, which is of course not a democracy, citizens will get to vote in a constitutional referendum that is expected to legitimise private business and open the door - if not positively support - gay marriage, and abortion has now been available in Ireland for two months, after Ireland’s ground-breaking vote last year. In a world in which referendums, plebiscites and citizens initiatives are more common than ever, are these forms of direct democracy really an answer to our political problems? Do they enhance or damage representative democracy? Do they satisfy an important right to be heard, or create deeper divisions in society?
This week on The Real Story with Ruth Alexander we ask: Are referendums ever a good idea?
Last on
Contributors
Caroline VernaillenΒ - Global Manager, PR & Community Building atΒ Democracy International, an NGO based in Cologne, Germany, which promotes citizen participation in politicsΒ
Alexandra Cirone - Assistant Professor of Government at Cornell University
Also featuring
Louise Caldwell - entrepreneur and member of Ireland's citizen assembly
Yanis Varoufakis - Greek economist, academic and politician, who served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015
Photo
Broadcasts
- Fri 22 Feb 2019 09:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Sat 23 Feb 2019 00:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Sat 23 Feb 2019 04:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
The Real Story Podcast
Subscribe via your favourite podcast app...
Podcast
-
![]()
The Real Story
Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.
