I will be presenting some sections of my book entitled Direct Democracy Worldwide, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Challenging the common assumption that models of direct democracy and representative democracy are necessarily at odds, I show how practices of direct and representative democracy interact under different institutional settings and uncovers the conditions that allow them to coexist in a mutually reinforcing manner. Whereas citizen-initiated mechanisms of direct democracy can spur productive relationships between citizens and political parties, other mechanisms of direct democracy often help leaders bypass other representative institutions, undermining republican checks and balances.
David Altman, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile