The philosophy of Direct Democracy - why we need it in order to democratize Democracy and what has been achieved so far in Europe

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The philosophy of Direct Democracy -why we need
it in order to democratize Democracy and what has
been achieved so far in Europe

• Contribution to the seminar  participacion
  ciudadana y democracia  of the gobierno vasco
• by Andreas Gross (Switzerland)
• Directeur de lAtelier pour la Democratie Directe
  à St.Ursanne /CH Political Scientist, Swiss MP
  Leader of the Socialists in the PACE
• Bilbao, 21st of January 2009
• www.andigross.ch info_at_andigross.ch

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Structure of my presentation on Direct Democracy
(DD)

• 5 keystones of the philosophy
• 5 central elements of a good design
• The most important effects (New political
  culture)
• Still a European and global exception
• Why DD is so important to overcome the crises of
  Democracy

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1. Democracy is a ongoing, never ending process.
- No Democracy is perfect, every Democracy is
unfinished - The process of democracy has
always a beginning, but never a end It started
in town, went on to regions, states... It
started in Assemblys, went on to Representation,
does not have to end here...
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2. Citizens are subjects, not objects of Democracy
- Empowerment turns the problem upside down
Those who have it, should get it back, should be
able to keep more of it. - The idea of Democracy
is to enable freedom More than a choice, not
possible to consume - The idea of Freedom Life
is not a destiny, we should be able to organize
it as we think its right !
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3. DD is no alternative to representative
DemocracyIt makes it more representative !
- Democracy is just more than representative
Democracy only ! - Representatives just do not
have the monopole of Democracy and Politics
Otherwise you have a Representocracy and a
Partitocracy ! - Representation is important,
but not the only possible Democracy
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4. In a Direct Democracy the power is really
shared
- Nobody has so much power, that he does not has
to learn from time to time. - The more you
organize the participation of citizens the more
they learn and feel part of the decision making
process. - The more you can also make use of the
creativity and the cultural richness of the
society
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5. The more and better DD you have, the more you
can integrate diversity and unity
- Modern societies are all diverse and
pluralistic You have to establish a decision
making process which respects this diversity and
enables unity on the basis of the highest
possible legitimacy ! - DD is the sister of
federalism and decentralisation of power.
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II.Five central elements of a well designed
Direct Democracy
1. Every constitution and law has to open for
citizen participation 2. A referendum is a
option for few citizens (1-2/6-18 months of
collection time) enabling all citizens to
participate 3. Free signature gathering 4. No
quorums for participation and validation 5.
Fairness rules for campaigning and public access
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III. A well designed DD produces cornerstones for
a new political culture
1. Politics become softer and more
communicative more reflection, more
deliberation, more understanding, less alienation
! 2. Politicians and parties do not only speak,
they also have to listen and learn. 3. The
distances between citizens and institutions get
smaller. 4. Citizens become more responsable
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IV. A well designed DD is still a exception in
Europe
1. Only 9 out of 47 countries in EU have a rich
DD experience (Uruguay and Palau too) 2. Italy
Quorum kills DK Europe only Ireland
Constitution only Baltics/Hung/Slovakia Too
exclusive SloveniaLaw onlyF Plebiscites only
CH No financial fairness Liechtenstein
Hegemony of the Kaiser.... 3. Since 1972 50
European Referendums on European Affairs ! 4.
Too elitist, too occasional and too difficult !
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V. To overcome the one element of the Crises of
Democracy is the condition to overcome the second
!

We have today a double crises of Democracy Too
representative and too national In order to
civilize markets we also need transnational
democracy A real European constitution with a
double power sharing (Italian Referendum 1989)
and a global democratic polity !