Constitutional Referendums and Elite Cooperation in Western Federal Systems

When reflecting about the dangers of what he called the “tyranny of the majority,” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote the following remarks in his seminal work Democracy in America: “I regard as impious and detestable this maxim that in matters of government the majority of a people has the right to do anything, and yet I consider that the will of the majority is the origin of all powers. Do I contradict myself?.” This quote summarizes several complicated issues transcending the scope of this chapter. It also reflects many of the tensions and dilemmas democracies of the twenty-first century face while undertaking constitutional reforms, especially in divided societies: the majority-minority(ies) dynamics, the direct and representative conceptions of democracy, the rigidity of the constitution.