Dóra Oprics
Dóra Oprics explores the 2X civil society campaign in Hungary in 2022, which resulted in 1.7 million Hungarians successfully invalidating an exclusionary child protection referendum. The outcome reveals insights into the mobilising powers of grassroots activism against attempts to demonise the LGBTQIA+ community Read more
Pedro Fierro
The people of Chile have rejected two constitutional proposals in little more than a year. Why? Pedro Fierro reveals that there are areas in Chile where residents reject politics entirely. This sentiment transcends ideological divides, and may have significantly influenced both constitutional processes Read more
Emilija Tudzarovska
The EU economic crisis revealed a clash between the EU and national authorities. This clash is, however, only one part of the story. Events in Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Slovenia, writes Emilija Tudzarovska, also revealed a crisis of party politics. This crisis has triggered appeals to populism and technocracy – technopopulism – which weakens yet further the institutionalisation of politics Read more
Laia Balcells
Laia Balcells, Lesley-Ann Daniels, and Alexander Kuo highlight the role of contentious territorial issues in shaping societal divisions. They study three European regions —Scotland, Catalonia, and Northern Ireland — that have salient territorial claims but very different histories. All three, however, exhibit striking similarities in levels of social polarisation Read more
Matthew E Bergman
What motivates people in referendum voting? Advocates argue that they allow voters to express their sincere preferences on issues. Matthew Bergman and Gianluca Passarelli look at the Italian case. They argue that voting in referenda can be just as party-focused as other forms of elections Read more
Rongxin Li
An orthodoxy in conventional democratic theory says that voting is all that really matters. Rongxin Li challenges the prominence of electoralism and majoritarianism in representative democratic practice. He argues that consultative democracy confers far more legitimacy on a decision than voting ever can or will Read more
Łukasz Wordliczek
Democratic malaise, deconsolidation, backsliding, illiberalism, decline, erosion, rupture, decay, or simply: crisis. This 'conceptual bazaar' shows that democracy does not necessarily keep up with today’s challenges. Łukasz Wordliczek suggests three possible remedies Read more
Julieta Suárez-Cao
The draft of a new Magna Carta in Chile proves that a constitution of and for women is possible, writes Julieta Suárez-Cao. But uncertainty lies ahead: polls regarding the constitutional vote on September 4th indicate it could be rejected Read more
