Small State Referendums: Lessons from New Zealand - Softcover

Morris, Caroline

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1032760419 ISBN 13: 9781032760414

Publisher: Routledge, 2025

Synopsis

This book explores the unusual and unique experience of direct democracy in the small state of New Zealand, where referendums have been a persistent feature of the political landscape for over a century. Referendums have been the site of renewed interest from scholars, seeking to respond to what they term the "democratic deficit" in otherwise stable and functional Western democracies. They have also been at the heart of many divisive and important political and social moments in recent history, from the UK’s Brexit referendum in 2016 to the disputed legitimacy of the 2022 referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine. This book fills an important gap in the literature through an extended study of the law and practice of referendums in the small Commonwealth state of New Zealand. It also expands the field of small state democracy studies by applying the insights of this field to the direct democracy experience of a small state. With the inclusion of comprehensive tables of referendums and legislative materials, this book will be of interest to scholars of direct democracy and small states, politicians, legislators and policy makers, and all those with a desire to do democracy better.

About this title

About the Author

Caroline Morris is Reader in Public Law at Queen Mary University of London, UK

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1032760419
• ISBN 13: 9781032760414
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 72