Hijackers and Hostages in Non-Binding Linked-Issues Referenda: Analysis and an Application

Non-binding referenda ('petitions') are an instrument of direct democracy that allows citizens to signal preferences to politicians outside the electoral cycle. This paper analyses a particular form of petitions, so-called linked-issues petitions, which have been described as an ‘abuse of direct democracy’. It discusses the use of linked petitions by petition initiators, its take-up by voters in terms of volume and voter motives, and applies the analytical insights to a controversial referendum held in Austria in 2002 that linked issues of transboundary nuclear risk and Eastern enlargement of the European Union. ∗ This paper has also greatly benefited from the comments of an anonymous referee of this journal as well as those of Andreas Kontoleon. I would also like to thank participants of the Cambridge Research for the Environment Workshops and at the conference on "Sustainable Development in Central Europe" at the University of Minnesota, in particular Michael Getzner, for helpful discussions. The usual waiver applies. GOESCHL: Issue linkage