Introduction

In the 1990s, the number of nationwide referendums rose to an unprecedented 371 votes, having stood at only 96 in the 1980s. But since then, there has been a slight decline in the number of polls. But in a time of dealignment the use of the referendum has remained high bit in democracies and paradoxically also in authoritarian states. Unlike other institutions, this device is used in dictatorships as well as in polyarchies—but most are in the latter not in the former.