Contents PREFACE No fair and decent globalisation without direct democracy 4 By Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation INTRODUCTION Initiatives & Referendums 6 Making democracy more truly representative ESSAYS 1 The year of decisions 15 How a citizen deals with six elections and 30 referendums within ten months 2 Citizens centre stage in politics 23 When the people put their collective foot on the accelerator 3 Back to the future 31 The story of a democratic revolution at the heart of Europe 4 As centralised as necessary, as decentralised as possible 39 On modern federalism 5 The land of the contented losers 47 Direct democracy reveals where in society the shoe pinches 6 Jura: democracy, not nationalism 55 How the Jura was able to make itself independent without violence 7 The myth of the incompetent citizen 63 Direct-democratic rights have an effect on those who use these rights 8 Out loud Bruno 71Kaufmann Why complete strangers suddenly start talking to each other in public Rolf Büchi 9 Added-value voting 77 A system which promotes growth strengthens society – and makes people happier Nadja Braun 10 Design determines the quality 85 Instructions for a citizen-friendly democracy 11 The limits of direct democracy 95 The popular vote on banning minarets and lessons to learn 12 The world of direct democracy 105 GuidebookModern direct democracy goes transnational RESOURCES Overview 113 FACTSHEETS Factsheets 1– 30 114 SURVEY World Survey: The Global Participation Challenge – with special 204 features on the European Citizens Initiatives and the Americas GLOSSARY Glossaryto of direct-democracy dterms irect248 INFORMATION The Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe 258 About/Acknowledgements 261 dIndexemocracy264 in Switzerland and beyond Bruno Kaufmann Rolf Büchi Nadja Braun Guidebook to direct democracy in Switzerland and beyond the iri guidebook to direct democracy – 2010 edition developed, written, edited by Bruno Kaufmann, Rolf Büchi, Nadja Braun english editor Paul Carline in cooperation with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, General Secretariat, Presence Switzerland. Presence Switzerland promotes an authentic image of modern Switzerland worldwide. www.eda.admin.ch / www.image-switzerland.ch concept, design and layout Amy Clark, Lukas Jaggi, Jeanmaire & Michel AG photography Simon Opladen, Berne Cover: © FDFA, Presence Switzerland printed in switzerland by Ast & Jakob, Vetsch AG, Köniz To order, contact The Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe Box 200540, DE-35017 Marburg (Germany) Phone +49 6421 28 24 748 / Fax +49 6421 28 28 991 [email protected] www.iri-europe.org Fourth edition (English): 3,000 copies Information valid as of July 1, 2010 Available in French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Italian, Korean and Finnish isbn: 978-3-940716-03-3 © 2010 Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior permission in writing from the Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe. Contents PREFACE No fair and decent globalisation without direct democracy 4 By Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation INTRODUCTION Initiatives & Referendums 6 Making democracy more truly representative ESSAYS 1 The year of decisions 15 How a citizen deals with six elections and 30 referendums within ten months 2 Citizens centre stage in politics 23 When the people put their collective foot on the accelerator 3 Back to the future 31 The story of a democratic revolution at the heart of Europe 4 As centralised as necessary, as decentralised as possible 39 On modern federalism 5 The land of the contented losers 47 Direct democracy reveals where in society the shoe pinches 6 Jura: democracy, not nationalism 55 How the Jura was able to make itself independent without violence 7 The myth of the incompetent citizen 63 Direct-democratic rights have an effect on those who use these rights 8 Out loud 71 Why complete strangers suddenly start talking to each other in public 9 Added-value voting 77 A system which promotes growth strengthens society – and makes people happier 10 Design determines the quality 85 Instructions for a citizen-friendly democracy 11 The limits of direct democracy 95 The popular vote on banning minarets and lessons to learn 12 The world of direct democracy 105 Modern direct democracy goes transnational RESOURCES Overview 113 FACTSHEETS Factsheets 1– 30 114 SURVEY World Survey: The Global Participation Challenge – with special 204 features on the European Citizens Initiatives and the Americas GLOSSARY Glossary of direct-democracy terms 248 INFORMATION The Initiative & Referendum Institute Europe 258 About/Acknowledgements 261 Index 264 No fair and decent globalisation without direct democracy Foreword by Swiss President Doris Leuthard Democracy is hard work – sweat and often uncomfortable confrontation. As former journalist Ulrich Kägi1 noted, democracy lives in “the conflict of interests and opinions – but also in the wisdom to recognise the limita- tions of this conflict”. Democracy is never easy – especially in an increasingly globalised world, in which state borders become more and more porous, where commerce and trade are possible everywhere and the exchange of goods can be carried out at any time. Nowadays – with few exceptions – and thanks to the latest electronic communications technology, doubt, distrust and criti- cism of government decisions can be viewed and downloaded by anyone anywhere in the world round the clock. The result is that Modern Direct Democracy as a necessary part of repre- sentative democracy is forced to engage more strongly than ever before in arguing its case – in convincing people of its merits – and in the perpetual search for compromise. In the 150 years of its history as a modern demo- cracy, Switzerland has developed a form of direct democracy and federal participation in decision-making which is about much more than just the victory of a majority over a minority. It also has to be possible for majority decisions to be secured by minorities. Federalism is one of the ways in which minority rights can be institutionally secured. Democracy also serves in a complementary fashion to protect the majority from the dictates of a minority. The procedures are designed in such a way that the losers can also live with the outcome. In our country democracy is not the “rule of the politician” as defined by Joseph A. Schumpeter2. In Switzerland there is a direct trade-off and active participation in shaping policy between the political establishment and the voters via the right of initiative. Here the initiative and referendum process has become a direct political feedback loop. 1 Ulrich Kägi 1924 –1995: Wird Freiheit Luxus?, 1977, Walter-Verlag 2 Joseph Schumpeter 1950: Kapitalismus, Sozialismus und Demokratie, Francke-Verlag 4 A reminder of this form of citizen participation and of the possibility of the concluding check through the popular vote on substantive issues is urgently needed as the world shrinks and barriers are dismantled. For globalisation to really benefit everyone, then multinationals and multilat- eral organisations also need a new input of democratisation. That doesn’t mean that companies have to be run democratically from top to bottom, nor that new bodies are needed to regulate international trade, for example. But the economic and financial crisis has shown that the rights of share- holders and employees need to be strengthened. And the work of tackling the crisis and dealing with its after-effects today shows just how urgent is the need for democratically derived rules within a larger international framework so that the multilateral organisations can be strengthened. In order to deal with the great challenges of the 21st century – the demand for resource efficiency, the removal of the great economic disparities, the demographic adjustments – there is a need for a democratic multilater- alism. It will not suffice for a group of heads of state to determine the pulse and pace of the world. In a globalised world, Modern Direct Democracy can create that connection with the citizens which can make the law serve humanity – even in the 21st century. The new edition of the IRI Guidebook to Direct Democracy in Switzerland and Beyond offers you the basics (and much more) to become better informed about the options and limits of this challenging way ahead. Doris Leuthard President of the Swiss Confederation 5 Initiatives & Referendums Making democracy more truly representative Dear reader, Never before have so many people been able to vote on so many substan- tive issues as during the first decade of the new millennium. Many issues were related to fundamental organisational principles of society, such as the popular vote on a new constitution in Turkey, the creation of two separate states in Sudan, or the preparations amending the voting system for elect- ing representatives to the national parliament in the UK (replacing the old unfair FPTP system with an alternative vote (AV) system). In other cases, the citizens were acting within the framework of a well-established partici- pative culture – as in the US state of Oregon, where voters agreed to raise taxes; or in Switzerland, where the proposal to introduce special animal protection lawyers was unable to secure the necessary majorities. But it was not only that citizens around the globe were able to participate actively in politics. The preconditions for