Politicians or other powerful actors will
often reframe the referendum into simplistic, straightforward narratives. The
result is that votes become less about the actual policy question than about
contests between abstract values, or between which narrative voters find more
appealing.
(…)
Though presented as putting power in the
hands of the people, referendums are often intended to put a stamp of popular
legitimacy on something leaders have already decided to do.
Amanda Taub and Max Fisher
The voters of the world have had quite a year:
They rejected Colombia’s peace deal; split Britain from the European Union; endorsed a Thai Constitution that curtails democracy; and, in Hungary, backed the government’s plan to restrict refugees,
but without the necessary turnout for a valid result.
Each of these moves was determined by a national referendum. Though
voters upended their governments’ plans, eroded their own rights and ignited
political crises, they all accomplished one thing: They demonstrated why many
political scientists consider referendums messy and dangerous.
When asked whether referendums were a good idea, Michael Marsh, a
political scientist at Trinity College Dublin, said, “The simple answer is
almost never.”
(...)
Para continuar a leitura, acesse http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/world/americas/colombia-brexit-referendum-farc-cameron-santos.html?ref=todayspaper&referer=https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FYrAG86IqRL
Amanda Taub and Max Fisher –
04.10.2016.
In NY Times.
