Introduction

Referendums have always been reviled and revered. For some reason this particular political institution arouses much more passion and touches upon more raw emotions than, say, second chambers, constitutional courts or congressional committees. For some, referendums are almost synonymous with democracy. For example, Vernon Bogdanor once noted, ‘arguments against referendums are also arguments against democracy’ (Bogdanor 1981: 93). On the other hand, others have suggested that referendums, by their very nature, invite the oppression of minorities and all sorts of ills. According to Roger Mac Ginty,

the principal problem with referendums in situations of profound ethnic conflict is that they are zero-sum, creating winners and losers. Simple majoritarian devices do little to help manage the complexity of conflict. Instead they validate the position of one side and reject that of another. Often, they do little other than delimit and quantify division.

(Mac Ginty 2003: 3)