The Roles of Referendums in Deliberative Systems

This paper does not ask to what degree referendums matchdeliberative democratic criteria, because no institution can. Instead,it asks what roles referendums can play in a deliberative system. Itargues that referendums can play constructive roles not just aslegitimating tools, but also by providing focusing events thatgenerate salience for everyday narratives of collective life. It alsoargues that small-scale deliberative processes work better whenthey are focused on such collective decision making moments.