Ruben Van Severen shows why politically cynical citizens often praise the idea of referendums, but are not necessarily enthusiastic when they take place. Drawing on research in Flanders, he shows how poor topic choice can turn a tool meant to reconnect disillusioned citizens into one that risks widening the gap
Political cynicism is on the rise across democracies. Increasingly, citizens believe that politicians cannot be trusted, are immoral, incompetent, and act solely in their own interest. Some argue it is becoming the default orientation toward politics, others warn it may pave the way for authoritarian strongmen to emerge.
In Flanders (Belgium), the region where my study with Tessa Haesevoets and Arne Roets took place, the numbers are stark. According to local statistics, only 12% of people trust the federal government, 13% the federal parliament, and 15% the Flemish government. Political parties fare worst of all, with a trust level of just 4%.
Seeking to close the gap between rulers and ruled, among other reasons, many governments have turned to instruments of direct democracy. Referendums promise citizens a direct say on policy, circumventing representative intermediaries. In Belgium, they are rare nationally but occur more often at local level, including in cities like Kortrijk, Tongeren, and Ghent.
There is growing interest in such direct democratic processes and their potential to engage disillusioned citizens. Despite this, empirical evidence on how political cynicism shapes reactions and engagement remains scarce, particularly when it comes to real-life practice.
Existing research shows that citizens value decision-making mechanisms that give them a more direct voice in policy decisions. Binding referendums are especially appealing to political cynics, who see them as a way to bypass traditional representative channels and decide directly on issues themselves.
Citizens value decision-making mechanisms that give them a more direct voice in policy. Research suggests that politically cynical respondents are more likely than others to support the idea of binding referendums in principle
We surveyed a representative sample of 2,205 Flemish citizens. In the first stage of a larger research project, we asked cynics about their views on several participatory tools, including citizen panels, participatory budgeting, and binding referendums.
As expected, politically cynical respondents were more likely than others to support the idea of binding referendums as a democratic principle.
To assess whether this enthusiasm survives in practice, we turned to Kortrijk, a Belgian-Flemish city of around 78,000 residents. Its local government had pledged to experiment with annual online referendums between 2019 and 2022. This made Kortrijk a rare Belgian case of a recurring, top-down referendum process.
The topics varied: introducing a monthly car-free Sunday in the city centre in 2019, selecting between two artworks for a public square in 2021, and measures to improve cleanliness through stricter littering fines in 2022.
In summer 2023, we surveyed more than 700 residents about these referendums. While overall sentiment was positive, the most politically cynical respondents were, paradoxically, more critical, and less likely to have voted.
The most telling finding was that cynics perceived the referendum topics as less important than non-cynical participants did. The car-free Sunday and artwork selection registered as low priority. Even the cleanliness referendum, which rated highest overall, was considered significantly less relevant by cynical citizens.
When cynicism toward political elites is already high, citizens may dismiss issues selected by those elites as strategically chosen or as not addressing 'the real issues'
This lower perceived importance partly explained their lower participation and their more negative evaluations of the referendums. When cynicism toward political elites is already high, citizens may dismiss issues selected by those elites as strategically chosen or as not addressing 'the real issues'. Instead of connecting people to the democratic process, such referendums risk alienating them yet further.
Our findings suggest that policy-makers should be clear about what they want to achieve with referendums. If the aim is simply to give interested citizens a chance to take part, that can work. But topic choice still matters because it determines how many people will care enough to vote. Low interest can mean low turnout, invalid results, and wasted effort.
Poorly chosen referendum topics can result in low turnout, invalid results, and wasted effort; referendums often work best when initiated by citizens, not policy-makers
If the aim is to reach a wider public that includes disillusioned citizens, the challenge is greater. Poorly chosen topics can backfire, confirming cynics’ negative expectations and deepening mistrust. Involving citizens in choosing the topics can help make them feel relevant and credible. This also reflects recent normative arguments that referendums work best when initiated by citizens rather than imposed from above.
Though these findings come from Flanders, the logic likely applies in other places where direct democracy operates in a climate of political cynicism and low trust. The key point is that referendums are unlikely to reengage disillusioned citizens unless they address issues that genuinely matter to them. Without that connection, direct democracy risks burning the very bridges it could build.
