2541. Domestic Politics and Referendums on the Constitutional Treaty
- Author:
- Gemma Mateo González
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Research Papers Archive
- Abstract:
- How can the decision of ten member states to subject the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union (EU) to a referendum be explained? Recently, some scholars have considered the need to give legitimacy to the decisions of the EU as one of the principal motivations for holding referendums. An empirical analysis of the motivations behind the decisions in favour of referendums uncovers a completely different reality, however. Political actor s used the possibility to hold referendums about European matters in a strategic way to strengthen their positions in the domestic context rather than to correct the democratic deficit of the EU. The analysis of a database with the positions of all the political parties represented in the national parliaments of the twenty-five member states confirms this point.
- Topic:
- Politics, Sovereignty, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe