Laurence Morel

by Keith Sutherland, Josine Blok, Irad Malkin, Daniela Cammack, Paul Cartledge, Ruth Chang, Barbara Goodwin, Nadia Urbinati, Helene Landemore, Laurence Morel, Joanna Podgórska-Rykała, Ben Saunders, Yves Sintomer, Graham Smith, Paolo Spada, and Peter Stone

Journal of Sortition, 2025

Since ancient times sortition (random selection by lot) has been used both to distribute politica... more Since ancient times sortition (random selection by lot) has been used both to distribute political office and as a general prophylactic against factionalism and corruption in societies as diverse as classical-era Athens and the Most Serene Republic of Venice. Lotteries have also been employed for the allocation of scarce goods such as social housing and school places to eliminate bias and ensure just distribution, along with drawing lots in circumstances where unpopular tasks or tragic choices are involved (as some situations are beyond rational human decision-making). More recently, developments in public opinion polling using random sampling have led to the proliferation of citizens’ assemblies selected by lot. Some activists have even proposed such bodies as an alternative to elected representatives. The Journal of Sortition benefits from an editorial board with a wide range of expertise and perspectives in this area. In this introduction to the first issue, we have invited our editors (including James Fishkin, Graham Smith, Yves Sintomer, Helene Landemore, Josiah Ober, Paul Cartledge and others) to explain why they are interested in sortition, and to outline the benefits (and pitfalls) of the recent explosion of interest in the topic.

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The Routledge Handbook to Referendums and Direct Democracy

Routledge eBooks, Dec 12, 2017

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Vers une démocratie directe partisane ? En relisant Ian Budge

Revue française de science politique, 2000

Penser la democratie directe. Non plus comme une utopie ou un ideal-type ; mais comme un regime c... more Penser la democratie directe. Non plus comme une utopie ou un ideal-type ; mais comme un regime concret, deja partiellement realise et susceptible de prendre le dessus sur le Gouvernement representatif. Partant du postulat que, grâce aux nouvelles technologies de la communication, il n'y aurait plus d'impossibilite de la democratie directe dans les grands Etats, lan Budge fait le point des entraves subsistant a la realisation de cette forme de regime. A cet effet il confronte ses defauts supposes ou reels avec ceux averes de la democratie representative. L'originalite majeure consiste cependant a montrer comment beaucoup d'inconvenients de la democratie directe pourraient etre evites en contexte partisan. On peut contester la these d'une sorte de marche naturelle de l'histoire vers la democratie directe, la capacite du web a creer des conditions de deliberation proches de celles de l'assemblee primaire, ou la vision bud-gienne tendanciellement idyllique des partis. Surtout, I. Budge sous-estime le probleme du poids de la participation, qui a augmente a l'epoque moderne avec l'extension du champ d'action gouvernementale et la complexification des problemes. Malgre ces critiques, l'ouvrage [The New Challenge of Direct Democracy, Cambridge, Polity Press, 1996] a le merite de constituer l'une des rares hypotheses de travail serieuses pour envisager l'extension des moyens de democratie directe.

Referendums and the evolution of party government in liberal democracies

European Review, 1998

An analysis of the motivations behind the present revival of referendum ballots in liberal democr... more An analysis of the motivations behind the present revival of referendum ballots in liberal democracies shows that referendums launched by governments, often politically motivated, and those launched by popular initiatives are linked to a demand for new legislation, and both illustrate the crisis of representative governments that is currently affecting these democracies. The pursuit of the increase of referendums will depend however on whether popular initiatives will or will not be introduced in the Constitutions of countries, since the great majority do not provide for it. In spite of similarities between the present political situation in Western Europe and the contexts in which popular initiatives were introduced in some countries, there is no serious ground to predict that such institutional reforms will take place in the near future. The directness of democracy is maybe more likely to increase under the effect not of referendums, but of other factors like the growing interfere...

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Les référendums en France sous la Ve république

Revue internationale de politique comparée, 2003

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