"ΑΜΕΣΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" ΞΕΝΟΓΛΩΣΣΗ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ. ΜΕΡΟΣ 3ο

"ΑΜΕΣΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" ΞΕΝΟΓΛΩΣΣΗ ΒΙΒΛΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΑ. ΜΕΡΟΣ 3ο

Schiller Theo (2011) Local Direct Democracy in Europe. Springer

The interdisciplinary series will present studies on direct democracy in theory and empirical research in modern Europe on the local, national, and European level.
Subjects will include country reports, legal aspects, special referendums, comparative studies, and analyses of policy impacts and the contribution of direct democracy to the development of democratic systems.

Baldassare Mark,  Katz Cheryl (2007) The Coming Age of Direct Democracy: California's Recall and Beyond. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

This book examines the new, hybrid democracy that has been taking shape in California since the historic recall of Gov. Gray Davis and election of former actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003. During the recall and its aftermath, California has reached unprecedented levels of use of direct democracy, in which public policy decisions are made by voters at the ballot box, rather than by elected representatives in the legislature. Driven by Californians' long-standing populism and distrust of government, a new form of governance is emerging: one that seeks to avoid the pitfalls of party politics and influence by special interest groups that plague representative democracy, by increasing the role of voters at the ballot box. This book analyzes the hybrid democracy that has developed under Gov. Schwarzenegger, and how his leadership has encouraged its growth. Using the Public Policy Institute of California Statewide Surveys, which include interviews with more than 150,000 Californians, the authors detail the transformation in the state's political climate and the public attitudes behind this change. The authors conclude that this transformation will likely take place in other states, perhaps even nationwide, and offer recommendations for ways to improve policymaking in a hybrid democracy.

Shaun Bowler, Donovan Todd, Tolbert Caroline (1998) Citizens as Legislators: Direct Democracy in the United States. Ohio State University Press

Early in the twentieth century, many American states began experimenting with direct democracy. Direct democracy -- primarily the initiative device -- allows groups to place directly before voters laws affecting taxation, spending, term limits, school choice, gay rights, immigration, and numerous other state issues. Ballot initiatives were expected to allow citizens the option of getting around legislators, who were seen as beholden to wealthy interests; early defenders of the process argued it would make state politics more responsive to the public will, and more responsible. Citizens as Legislators examines direct democracy in America at the end of the twentieth century to see if it has lived up to these expectations.

The seven contributors to this volume use the American experience with direct democracy to investigate some fundamental questions of politics: Can modern democracy have direct citizen participation in legislation? What are the consequences of more (or less) direct citizen access to government?

The authors look at the context of initiative campaigns and detail the rise of the modern initiative campaign industry. They examine how campaigns affect voters and how voters deal with the array of decisions they face in direct democracy states. They go on to explain why certain policy outcomes are different in direct democracy states.

Miller Kenneth (2009) Direct Democracy and the Courts.  Cambridge University Press

Who should have the last word on fundamental policy issues? This book analyzes the rise of two contenders the people, through direct democracy, and the courts. Introduced in the U.S. during the Progressive Era and now available in nearly half the states, direct democracy has surged in recent decades. Through ballot measures, voters have slashed taxes, mandated government spending, imposed term limits on elected officials, enacted campaign finance reform, barred affirmative action, banned same-sex marriage, and adopted many other controversial laws. In several states, citizens now bypass legislatures to make the most important policy decisions. However, the people s rule is not absolute. This book demonstrates that courts have used an expanding power of judicial review to invalidate citizen-enacted laws at remarkably high rates. The resulting conflict between the people and the courts threatens to produce a popular backlash against judges and raises profound questions about the proper scope of popular sovereignty and judicial power in a constitutional system.