« Citizens’ Empowerment through direct democratic processes »

Conférence de clôture de doctorat — Kim GRAVES — ETHICS, Université Catholique de Lille

Recent reforms in France and elsewhere have renewed attention to instruments commonly associated with direct democracy. These debates are often framed in terms of whether such instruments strengthen or weaken democratic governance. This presentation departs from this dichotomy by conceptualising referendums and initiatives as popular vote processes embedded within democratic systems, rather than as alternatives to representative institutions (el-Wakil and McKay 2020).

The project develops a framework that captures key stages of these processes, including agenda-setting, activation, and decision-making effects and the role of various actors inside the process. This approach allows for a systematic analysis of how different institutional configurations shape political dynamics and outcomes.

Preliminary findings suggest that existing classifications obscure important variation in how popular vote processes operate in practice. By contrast, the proposed framework provides greater analytical leverage in explaining their use and effects across cases.

The presentation situates current reform debates within this broader perspective and outlines a research agenda focused on how institutional design structures the role of popular vote processes within contemporary democratic systems.

Kim GRAVES is a PhD student at ESPOL/ETHICS, Université catholique de Lille.