Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:37:18.030Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Contested Sovereignty: Mapping Referendums on Sovereignty over Time and Space

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2016

Fernando Mendez  and
Micha Germann
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The recent proliferation of referendums on sovereignty matters has fuelled growing scholarly interest. However, comparative research is hindered by the weaknesses of current compilations, which tend to suffer from conceptual vagueness, varied coding decisions, incomplete coverage and ad hoc categorizations. Based on an improved conceptualization and theory-driven typology, this article presents a new dataset of 602 sovereignty referendums from 1776–2012, more than double the number in existing lists. In an exploratory analysis, it uncovers eight distinctive clusters of sovereignty referendums and identifies patterns of activity over time and space as well as outcomes produced.

Type
Articles
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 48 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 141 - 165
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau, University of Zurich (email: [email protected]); Centre for Comparative and International Studies, ETH Zurich (email: [email protected]). Earlier versions of this article were presented at the 2013 ‘Colloque sur la pratique référendaire et l’idéal démocratique européen’ in Clemont-Ferrand, the 2014 ECPR general conference in Glasgow and the 2015 PSA in Sheffield. Many thanks for all constructive comments received. We would especially like to thank Nicolas Aubert, Andreas Auer, Corsin Bisaz, Matt Qvortrup, Mario Mendez, Beat Müller, Uwe Serdült and Jonathan Wheatley for their input as well as the reviewers and the editor for their helpful suggestions. The research presented in this article was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grant no. 10001A_135127. The dataset, codebook and replication codes are available from https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/BJPolS. Updates will be made available on the project website at http://www.contestedsovereignty.com.

References

Auer, Andreas, Malinverni, Giorgio, and Hottelier, Michel. 2006. Droit constitutionnel suisse [Swiss Constitutional Law]. Bern: Stämpfli.Google Scholar
Beigbeder, Yves. 1994. International Monitoring of Plebiscites, Referenda and National Elections: Self-Determination and Transition to Democracy. Boston, MA: M. Nijhoff.Google Scholar
Beran, Harry. 1984. A Liberal Theory of Secession. Political Studies 32 (1):21–31.Google Scholar
Birch, Anthony H. 1984. Another Liberal Theory of Secession. Political Studies 32 (4):596–602.Google Scholar
Bogdanor, Vernon. 1981. Referendums and Separatism II. In The Referendum Device, edited by Austin Ranney, 143–158. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Brady, Henry E., and Kaplan, Cynthia S.. 1994. Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. In Referendums Around the World, edited by David Butler and Austin Ranney, 174–217. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Buchanan, Allen E. 2004. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Butler, David, and Ranney, Austin, eds. 1978. Referendums: A Comparative Study of Practice and Theory. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Butler, David, and Ranney, Austin. 1994a. Practice. In Referendums Around the World, edited by David Butler and Austin Ranney, 1–10. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Butler, David, and Ranney, Austin, eds. 1994b. Referendums Around the World: The Growing Use of Direct Democracy. Basingstoke: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Centre for Research on Direct Democracy. 2011. Direct Democracy Database. Available from http://www.c2d.ch/, accessed 27 May 2014.Google Scholar
Chiorazzi, Michael G., and Most, Marguerite, eds. 2005. Prestatehood Legal Materials: A Fifty-State Research Guide, Including New York City and the District of Columbia. New York: Haworth Information Press.Google Scholar
Choudhry, Sujit, and Howse, Robert. 2000. Constitutional Theory and the Quebec Secession Reference. Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 13 (2):143–169.Google Scholar
Clarke, Harold D., Kornberg, Allan, and Stewart, Marianne C.. 2004. Referendum Voting as Political Choice: The Case of Quebec. British Journal of Political Science 34 (2):345–355.Google Scholar
Correlates of War Project. 2011. State System Membership List, v2011. Available from http://correlatesofwar.org, accessed 25 May 2015.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. A. 1990. After the Revolution? Authority in a Good Society. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dardanelli, Paolo. 2005. Democratic Deficit or the Europeanisation of Secession? Explaining the Devolution Referendums in Scotland. Political Studies 53 (2):320–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denver, David. 2002. Voting in the 1997 Scottish and Welsh Devolution Referendums: Information, Interests and Opinions. European Journal of Political Research 41 (6):827–843.Google Scholar
Farley, Lawrence T. 1986. Plebiscites and Sovereignty: The Crisis of Political Illegitimacy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Fauchille, Paul. 1925. Traité de droit international public. Tome I, deuxième partie: Paix [Treatise of International Public Law. Volume I, Second Part: Peace]. Paris: Rousseau and Cie.Google Scholar
Freudenthal, Felix. 1891. Die Volksabstimmung bei Gebietsabtretungen und Eroberungen [The Referendum in the Context of Cessions and Annexations]. Erlangen: Junge and Sohn.Google Scholar
Gawenda, Jerzy. A.B. 1946. Le plébiscite en droit international: Problème d’ordre juridique et politique [The Plebiscite in International Law: Judicial and Political Problems]. Fribourg: St-Paul.Google Scholar
Giroud, J. 1920. Le plébiscite international: Etude historique et critique de droit des gens [The International Plebiscite: Historical Study and Critique of International Law]. Le Puy: Peyriller, Rouchon and Gamon.Google Scholar
Goertz, Gary. 2006. Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Goodhart, Philip. 1971. Referendum. London: Tom Stacey.Google Scholar
Goodhart, Philip. 1981. Referendums and Separatism I. In The Referendum Device, edited by Austin Ranney, 138–142. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
Haas, Ernst B. 1958. The Uniting of Europe. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
He, Baogang. 2002. Referenda as a Solution to the National-Identity/Boundary Question: An Empirical Critique of the Theoretical Literature. Alternatives 27 (1):67–97.Google Scholar
Heraclides, Alexis. 1997. Ethnicity, Secessionist Conflict and the International Society: Towards Normative Paradigm Shift. Nations and Nationalism 3 (4):493–520.Google Scholar
Hewitt, Christoher, and Cheetham, Tom. 2000. Encyclopedia of Modern Separatist Movements. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.Google Scholar
Hobolt, Sara B. 2009. Europe in Question: Referendums on European Integration. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hug, Simon. 2002. Voices of Europe: Citizens, Referendums and European Integration. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Hughes, James. 2001. Chechnya: The Causes of a Protracted Post-Soviet Conflict. Civil Wars 4 (4):11–48.Google Scholar
Keohane, Robert O. 2003. Political Authority After Intervention: Gradations in Sovereignty. In Humanitarian Intervention: Ethical, Legal, and Political Dilemmas, edited by J. L. Holzgrefe and Robert O. Keohane, 275–298. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Krasner, Stephen D. 1999. Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Krasner, Stephen D. 2004. Sharing Sovereignty: New Institutions for Collapsed and Failing States. International Security 29 (2):85–120.Google Scholar
Krasner, Stephen D. 2005. The Case for Shared Sovereignty. Journal of Democracy 16 (1):69–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kunz, Josef L. 1961. Plebiszit [Plebiscite]. In Wörterbuch des Völkerrechts [Dictionary of International Law] edited by Karl Strupp and Hans-JürgenSchlochauer, 770–774. Berlin: De Gruyter & Co.Google Scholar
Laponce, Jean. A. 2001. National Self-Determination and Referendums: The Case for Territorial Revisionism. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 7 (2):33–56.Google Scholar
Laponce, Jean. A. 2004. Turning Votes into Territories: Boundary Referendums in Theory and Practice. Political Geography 23 (2):169–183.Google Scholar
Laponce, Jean. A. 2010. Le référendum de souveraineté: Comparaisons, critiques et commentaires [The Sovereignty Referendum: Comparisons, Criticisms and Comments]. Québec: Presses de l’Université Laval.Google Scholar
Laponce, Jean. A. 2012. Language and Sovereignty Referendums: The Convergence Effect. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 18 (1):113–128.Google Scholar
LeDuc, Lawrence. 2003. The Politics of Direct Democracy: Referendums in Global Perspective. Peterborough and Orchard Park, NY: Broadview Press.Google Scholar
Lee, Sung, and Ginty, Roger Mac. 2012. Context and Postconflict Referendums. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 18 (1):43–64.Google Scholar
Loizides, Neophytos. 2014. Negotiated Settlements and Peace Referendums. European Journal of Political Research 53 (2):234–249.Google Scholar
Loughlin, Martin, and Walker, Neil, eds. 2007. The Paradox of Constitutionalism: Constituent Power and Constitutional Form. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mac Ginty, Roger. 2003. Constitutional Referendums and Ethnonational Conflict: The Case of Northern Ireland. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 9 (2):1–22.Google Scholar
Mattern, Johannes. 1920. The Employment of the Plebiscite in the Determination of Sovereignty. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins Press.Google Scholar
McCormick, John. 2004. The State of Utah. In The Uniting States, edited by Benjamin. F. Shearer, 1185–1214. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Mendez, Fernando, Mendez, Mario, and Triga, Vicky. 2014. Referendums and the European Union: A Comparative Inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Minahan, James. 2002. Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Minorities at Risk Project. 2009. Minorities at Risk Dataset. Available from http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/, accessed 27 May 2014.Google Scholar
Morel, Laurence. 2007. The Rise of ‘Politically Obligatory’ Referendums: The 2005 French Referendum in Comparative Perspecti. West European Politics 30 (5):1041–1067.Google Scholar
Muñoz, Jordi, and Guinjoan, Marc. 2013. Accounting for Internal Variation in Nationalist Mobilization: Unofficial Referendums for Independence in Catalonia (2009–11). Nations and Nationalism 19 (1):44–67.Google Scholar
Nadeau, Richard, Martin, Pierre, and Blais, André. 1999. Attitude Towards Risk-Taking and Individual Choice in the Quebec Referendum on Sovereignty. British Journal of Political Science 29 (3):523–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oklopcic, Zoran. 2012. Independence Referendums and Democratic Theory in Quebec and Montenegro. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 18 (1):22–42.Google Scholar
Oppermann, Kai. 2013. The Politics of Discretionary Government Commitments to European Integration Referendums. Journal of European Public Policy 20 (5):684–701.Google Scholar
Pammett, Jon. H., and LeDuc, Lawrence.. 2001. Sovereignty, Leadership and Voting in the Quebec Referendums. Electoral Studies 20 (2):265–280.Google Scholar
Peters, Anne. 1995. Das Gebietsreferendum im Völkerrecht: Seine Bedeutung im Licht der Staatenpraxis nach 1989 [The Territorial Referendum in International Law: Its Significance in Light of State Practice after 1989]. Baden-Baden: Nomos.Google Scholar
Philpott, Daniel. 1995. Sovereignty: An Introduction and Brief History. Journal of International Affairs 48 (2):353–368.Google Scholar
Qvortrup, Matt. 2012. The History of Ethno-National Referendums 1791–2011. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 18 (1):129–150.Google Scholar
Qvortrup, Matt. 2014. Referendums and Ethnic Conflict. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Radan, Peter. 2012. Secessionist Referenda in International and Domestic Law. Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 18 (1):8–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roba, William. 2004. The State of Iowa. In The Uniting States, edited by Benjamin. F. Shearer, 411–433. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Rouard de Card, Edgar. 1890. Etudes de droit international [Studies in International Law]. Paris: A. Durand et Pedone-Lauriel.Google Scholar
Rourke, John. T., Hiskes, Richard. P., and Zirakzadeh, Cyrus. E.. 1992. Direct Democracy and International Politics: Deciding International Issues Through Referendums. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Rudrakumaran, Visuvanathan. 1989. The ‘Requirement’ of Plebiscite in Territorial Rapprocheme. Houston Journal of International Law 12:23–54.Google Scholar
Sarkees, Meredith R., and Wayman, Frank W.. 2010. Resort to War: A Data Guide to Inter-State, Extra-State, Intra-State, and Non-State Wars, 1816–2007. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Scelle, Georges. 1934. Précis de droit des gens: Principes et systématique. Deuxième partie: droit constitutionnel international [Synopsis of International Law: Principles and Systematic. Second Part: International Constitutional Law]. Paris: Recueil Sirey.Google Scholar
Sen, Ilker, G. 2015. Sovereignty Referendums in International and Constitutional Law. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Shearer, Benjamin, F., ed. 2004. The Uniting States: The Story of Statehood for the Fifty United States. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Gordon. 1976. The Functional Properties of the Referendum. European Journal of Political Research 4 (1):1–23.Google Scholar
Solière, Eugène. 1901. Le plébiscite dans l’annexion: Etude historique et critique de droit des gens [The Annexation Plebiscite: Historical Study and Critique of International Law]. Paris: L. Boyer.Google Scholar
Suchmaschine fuer direkte Demokratie [Direct Democracy Search Engine]. 2014. Datenbank und Suchmaschine fuer direkte Demokratie [Database and Search Engine for Direct Democracy]. Available from http://www.sudd.ch/, accessed 27 May 2014.Google Scholar
Sussman, Gary. 2006. When the Demos Shapes the Polis: The Use of Referendums in Settling Sovereignty Issues. Available from http://www.iandrinstitute.org/New%20IRI%20Website%20Info/I&R%20Research%20and%20History/I&R%20Studies/Sussman%20-%20When%20the%20Demos%20Shapes%20the%20Polis%20IRI.pdf, 27 August 2014.Google Scholar
Thompson, Robert. J. 1989. Referendums and Ethnoterritorial Movements: The Policy Consequences and Political Ramifications. In Ethnoterritorial Politics, Policy, and the Western World, edited by Joseph. R. Rudolph and Robert. J. Thompson, 181–220. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.Google Scholar
Tierney, Stephen. 2007. ‘We the Peoples’: Constituent Power and Constitutionalism in Plurinational States. In The Paradox of Constitutionalism, edited by Martin Loughlin and Neil Walker, 229–246. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tierney, Stephen. 2009. Constitutional Referendums: A Theoretical Enquiry. Modern Law Review 72 (3):360–383.Google Scholar
Tierney, Stephen. 2013. Legal Issues Surrounding the Referendum on Independence for Scotland. European Constitutional Law Review 9 (3):359–390.Google Scholar
Walker, Mark C. 2003. The Strategic Use of Referendums: Power, Legitimacy, and Democracy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Wambaugh, Sarah. 1920. A Monograph on Plebiscites: With a Collection of Official Documents. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wambaugh, Sarah. 1933. Plebiscites Since the World War: With a Collection of Official Documents. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment.Google Scholar
Wheatley, Jonathan. 2012. The Disruptive Potential of Direct Democracy in Deeply Divided Societies. In Direct Democracy and Minorities, edited by Wilfried Marxer, 64–73. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.Google Scholar
Wood, John. R. 1981. Secession: A Comparative Analytical Framework. Canadian Journal of Political Science 14 (1):107–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Link

Mendez and Germann Dataset

Dataset

http://dx.doi.org/10.7910/DVN/PXMGHF
Link