By: Maija Setala (Editor), Theo Schiller (Editor)

Hardcover

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The contributors to this edited volume analyze and compare different kinds of citizens' initiatives, including both full scale initiatives and agenda initiatives, in eleven European democracies and the EU. The book provides a comprehensive account of the practices of citizens' initiatives in each case, including a description of the historical background of the citizens' initiatives and the political system in which they operate. Particular attention is paid to the institutional design of citizens' initiatives which largely explains how they function in different political contexts. Citizens Initiatives in Europe sheds light on issues relevant to democracy, for example, how citizens' initiatives influence patterns of political agenda-setting in representative democracies and how they contribute to the aspirations of participatory democracy.

'An important contribution to the comparative literature on direct democracy. The growing use of initiatives and the coming into effect of the new European Citizens' Initiative make this a particularly timely publication.' - Lawrence LeDuc, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto, Canada 'This is an impressive book. It covers an obvious need and is written by the best experts within the field. A major contribution to our understanding of democracy in Europe.' - Palle Svensson, Professor, Aarhus University, Denmark

List of Figures and Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xi
Notes on Contributors	p. xii
Introduction	p. 1
Citizens' initiatives as a subject of research	p. 1
The design of initiative institutions	p. 6
The role of initiatives in democratic systems	p. 9
Practices of Full-Scale Initiatives
Switzerland: Citizens' Initiatives as a Measure to Control the Political Agenda	p. 17
Introduction	p. 17
The historical background of direct democracy in Switzerland	p. 18
Procedures for citizens' initiatives	p. 20
The experience of initiatives: Topics, makers and consequences of initiatives	p. 25
The overall political impact of initiatives	p. 29
Conclusion	p. 32
Initiatives in Liechtenstein: Safety Valve in a Complex System of Government	p. 37
Historical and political background	p. 37
Legal framework	p. 38
Popular initiatives between 1921 and 2010	p. 45
Concluding remarks: 'Safety valve' and 'emergency brake'	p. 49
An Electoral Tactic? Citizens' Initiatives in Post-Soviet Latvia	p. 53
Introduction	p. 53
Bringing the Alps to the Baltic: Citizens' initiatives in inter-war Latvia	p. 53
Citizens' initiative procedures in contemporary Latvia	p. 55
The experience of citizens' initiatives	p. 58
Conclusions: The political impact of citizens' initiatives in Latvia	p. 65
Systems Mixing Different Types of Initiatives
Institutions of Citizens' Political Participation in Italy: Crooked Forms, Hindered Institutionalization	p. 71
Introduction: Representative democracy and institutions of citizens' political participation	p. 71
The historical and political background of citizens' initiatives	p. 73
The procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 75
The experience: Topics, makers and consequences	p. 77
The political impact of abrogative initiatives	p. 83
Concluding remarks: Who controls whom and what?	p. 85
Initiative Instruments in Germany: Variations in Regional States	p. 89
Historical background of direct democracy in Germany	p. 89
Procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 91
The experience of initiatives	p. 100
Role and impact on the political system	p. 107
Citizens' Initiatives in Hungary: An Additional Opportunity for Power-Sharing in an Extremely Majoritarian System	p. 113
The historical background of citizens' initiatives	p. 113
The procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 117
The experience of initiatives	p. 121
The political impact of initiatives	p. 130
Citizens' Initiatives in Lithuania: Initiative Institutions and Their Political Impact in a New Democracy	p. 134
Introduction	p. 134
The procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 135
The experience of initiatives: Topics, makers and consequences of initiatives	p. 139
Direct democracy and citizens' initiatives: Opportunities and constraints	p. 148
If It Works, Fine, If Not, So What? Initiatives in Slovakia	p. 152
Introduction	p. 152
The historical and political background of citizens' initiative institutions	p. 153
The procedures for making citizens 'initiatives	p. 157
The experience of initiatives: Topics, makers and consequences of initiatives	p. 159
Conclusion	p. 169
Practices of Agenda Initiatives
The Austrian Agenda Initiative: An Instrument Dominated by Opposition Parties	p. 175
Introduction	p. 175
The historical and political background of the agenda initiative	p. 176
The legal framework of the agenda initiative at the federal level	p. 178
Legal framework of the agenda initiative at the state level	p. 182
The experience of initiatives: Topics, initiators and consequences	p. 184
The overall political impact of initiatives	p. 189
The Spanish Agenda Initiative and the Reform of Its Legal Regime: A New Chance for Participatory Democracy?	p. 193
The historical and political background of the Spanish popular initiative	p. 193
Procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 195
The popular initiative in the law-making process	p. 202
The popular initiative in practice	p. 203
Conclusion: The overall impact of the initiatives and some ideas for reform	p. 209
Popular Initiatives in Poland: Citizens' Empowerment or Keeping Up Appearances?	p. 212
The historical and political background of citizens' initiative institutions	p. 212
The procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 213
The experience of initiatives: Topics, makers and the consequences of initiatives	p. 220
The overall political impact of initiatives	p. 225
Transnational 'Babystep': The European Citizens' Initiative	p. 228
Introduction	p. 228
The historical background	p. 229
The regulatory framework of the European Citizens' Initiative	p. 233
The European Citizens' Initiative procedures	p. 237
Conclusions	p. 239
Comparative Findings	p. 243
The historical and political background of citizens' initiative institutions	p. 243
The procedures for making citizens' initiatives	p. 245
The experience of initiatives: Topics, makers and consequences of initiatives	p. 251
Impact of initiative instruments on the overall development of political systems	p. 255
Index	p. 260
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9780230319691
ISBN-10: 0230319696
Series: Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century
Audience: Professional
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 280
Published: 15th April 2012
Dimensions (cm): 22.3 x 14.3  x 2.1
Weight (kg): 0.458