This volume analyses how the use of referendums affects the central functions and characteristics of representative democracy and provides a balanced account on the interaction between referendums, representative institutions and actors.

1. Introduction Maija Setälä Section 1: Referendums and Models of Democracy 2. From People's Veto to Instrument of Elite Consensus: The Referendum Experience in Ireland Bill Kissane 3. Stabilizing or Destabilizing? Direct-Democratic Instruments in Different Political systems Wilfried Marxer and Zoltán Tibor Pállinger 4. Ideological Positions and the Referendum in the Netherlands Ank Michels Section 2: The Demand for Referendums: Strategies and Ideologies 5. To Structure Political Conflict: The Institutionalization of Referendums on European Integration in the Nordic Countries Nick Sitter 6. Elite Motives for Initiating Referendums: Avoidance, Addition and Contradiction Gideon Rahat 7. The Surge of Referendums and the New Politics Approach Tor Bjørklund Section 3: Referendum Campaigns and Voter Behaviour 8. Campaign Tactics and Outcomes in Referendums: A Comparative Analysis Lawrence LeDuc 9. Intense but Useless? Public Debate and Voting Factors in Two Referendums in Spain Joan Font and Elisa Rodríguez 10. Checks and Balances in Swiss Direct Democracy Fritz Sager and Marc Bühlmann 11. Conclusions Theo Schiller