English
Język Polski
Referendum as a form of control of the authorities by the inhabitants
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is to present one of the tools of direct democracy, i.e. a referendum, the effectiveness of which depends on legal regulations and the manner and skills of its use by residents.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The author intends to confirm or question the hypothesis that the referendum is a tool used by the inhabitants to control the rulers, and not a tool in the hands of the fourth power or the fourth estate. The methods used are: a descriptive method, analysis and synthesis.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The argument will be based on the Polish appeal referendum, as it is the most popular and most frequently used form of referendum in our country. The most important changes in the field of referendum law and selected examples from election practice will be analyzed. In the latter case, it will be important to identify factors and examples that limit the effectiveness of this form of direct democracy.
RESEARCH RESULTS: As a result of the analysis, it was possible to show that the referendum is a tool for the inhabitants to control the authorities. However, the frequency of its use and effectiveness are not satisfactory. This is influenced by both the referendum regulations, the local community’s lack of ability to use the referendum, and the lack of interest in the affairs of local communities.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMENDATIONS: The effectiveness of a referendum depends to the greatest extent on legal regulations, but also on the ability to use the tools of direct democracy. Even the best solutions and regulations will not help if citizens do not know how to use the available instruments. Therefore, one of the ways to increase the effectiveness of the referendum should be civic education.
Keywords
direct democracy ; referendum ; recall referendum ; local government
Details
References
Indicators
Authors
Zasady cytowania
Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are asked to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). We advise to use any of the following reserach society portals: