From Greater Participation to Reinforced Representation: on UK, French and German Parliamentarians Debating ‘Democracy’, 2000–2019
By: Hugo Bonin, Pasi Ihalainen and Zachris Haaparinne
References
- Abrial, Stéphanie, Chloé Alexandre, Camille Bedock, Frédéric Gonthier, and Tristan Guerra. 2022. “Control or Participate? The Yellow Vests’ Democratic Aspirations through Mixed Methods Analysis.” French Politics 20 (no. 3): 479–503. 10.1057/s41253-022-00185-x.
- Accetti, Carlo Invernizzi. 2019. What is Christian Democracy? Politics, Religion and Ideology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Allen, Nicholas, and Katja Mirwaldt. 2010. “Democracy‑Speak: Party Manifestos and Democratic Values in Britain, France and Germany.” West European Politics 33 (no. 4): 870–893. 10.1080/01402381003794662.
- Assemblée Nationale. n.d. Comptes rendus des débats en séance.
https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr . - Atkin, Nicholas. 2017. The Fifth French Republic. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Bacqué, Marie‑Hélène, and Mohamed Mechmache. 2013. Pour une réforme radicale de la politique de la ville. Paris: Ministère de la ville.
- Best, Heinrich, and Lars Vogel. 2020.
“Individualistic Representation in the Liberal Century–and Beyond.” In Research Handbook on Political Representation, edited by Maurizio Cotta and Federico Russo, 98–108. New York: Edward Elgar Publishing. - Bicquelet, Aude, and Helen Addison. 2018. “Are Discretionary Referendums on EU Integration Becoming “Politically Obligatory”? The Cases of France and the UK.” Parliamentary Affairs 71 (no. 2): 219–242. 10.1093/pa/gsx023.
- Biefang, Andreas. 2022.
“Parlamentarismus und Demokratie.” In Parlamentarismus in Deutschland von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart, edited by Andreas Biefang, Dominik Geppert, Marie‑Luise Recker and Andreas Wirsching, 29–53. Düsseldorf: Droste. - Blick, Andrew. 2019. Stretching the Constitution: the Brexit Shock in Historic Perspective. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
- Bogdanor, Vernon. 2019. Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution. London: I.B. Tauris.
- Close, Caroline. 2020. “Rapport au système représentatif et soutien à la démocratie directe et délibérative. Analyse comparée des attitudes des élus nationaux en Europe.” Participations 26–27 (no. 1–2): 193–222. 10.3917/parti.026.0193.
- Conway, Martin. 2020. Western Europe’s Democratic Age: 1945–1968. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Corduwener, Pepijn. 2016. “Democracy as a Contested Concept in Post‑War Western Europe: A Comparative Study of Political Debates in France, West Germany, and Italy.” The Historical Journal 59 (no. 1): 197–220. 10.1017/S0018246X14000673.
- Corduwener, Pepijn. 2023. The Rise and Fall of the People’s Parties: A History of Democracy in Western Europe since 1918. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Dalton, Russell J. 2013. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
- Donovan, Todd, and Jeffrey A. Karp. 2006. “Popular Support for Direct Democracy.” Party Politics 12 (no. 5): 671–688. 10.1177/1354068806066793.
- Garrigues, Jean, and Éric Anceau. 2016.
“Discussing the First Age of French Parliamentarism.” In Parliament and Parliamentarism, edited by Pasi Ihalainen, Cornelia Ilie and Kari Palonen, 49–61. Oxford: Berghahn Books. - Gilcher‑Holtey, Ingrid. 2018.
“Political Participation and Democratization in the 1960s: The Concept of Participatory Democracy and Its Repercussions.” In Democracy in Modern Europe, edited by Jussi Kurunmäki, Jeppe Nevers and Henk te Velde. Oxford: Berghahn Books. - Gordon, Michael. 2020. “Referendums in the UK Constitution: Authority, Sovereignty and Democracy after Brexit.” European Constitutional Law Review 16 (no. 2): 213–248. 10.1017/S1574019620000152.
- Grossman, Emiliano, and Nonna Mayer. 2022. “A New Form of Anti‑Government Resentment? Making Sense of Mass Support for the Yellow‑Vest Movement in France.” Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties 33 (no. 4): 746–768. 10.1080/17457289.2022.2142596.
- Ihalainen, Pasi, and Kari Palonen. 2009. “Parliamentary Sources in the Comparative Study of Conceptual History: Methodological Aspects and Illustrations of a Research Proposal.” Parliaments, Estates & Representation 29: 17–34. 10.1080/02606755.2009.9522293.
- Ihalainen, Pasi, and Taina Saarinen. 2019. “Integrating a Nexus: The History of Political Discourse and Language Policy Research.” Rethinking History 23: 500–519. 10.1080/13642529.2019.1638587.
- Ihalainen, Pasi. 2025. “Representative Democracy Legitimized with ‘Participation’: The German Federal Parliament in the North‑West European Context since 1968.” Archiv für Sozialgeschichte 65: 233–256.
- Inglehart, Ronald. 1977. The Silent Revolution: Changing Values and Political Styles among Western Publics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Jacquet, Vincent, Christoph Niessen, and Min Reuchamps. 2022. “Sortition, Its Advocates and Its Critics: An Empirical Analysis of Citizens’ and MPs’ Support for Random Selection as a Democratic Reform Proposal.” International Political Science Review 43 (no. 2): 295–316. 10.1177/0192512120949958.
- Jones, Emily. 2019. “Constructive Constitutionalism in Conservative and Unionist Political Thought, c.1885–1914.” The English Historical Review 134 (no. 567): 334–357. 10.1093/ehr/cez091.
- Jörke, Dirk, and Marcus Llanque. 2016.
“Parliamentarism and Democracy in German Political Theory Since 1848.” In Parliament and Parliamentarism, edited by Pasi Ihalainen, Cornelia Ilie and Kari Palonen, 262–276. Oxford: Berghahn Books. - Jung, Otmar. 1989. “Plebiszitärer Durchbruch 1929? Zur Bedeutung von Volksbegehren und Volksentscheid gegen den Youngplan für die NSDAP.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft 15 (no. 4): 489–510.
- Jung, Otmar. 1994. Grundgesetz und Volksentscheid: Gründe und Reichweite der Entscheidungen des Parlamentarischen Rats gegen Formen direkter Demokratie. Opladen: Springer‑Verlag.
- Junius, Nino, Matthieu Joke, Didier Caluwaerts, and Silvia Erzeel. 2021.
“Is It Interests, Ideas or Institutions? Explaining Elected Representatives’ Positions Toward Democratic Innovations in 15 European Countries.” In Improving, Bypassing or Overcoming Representation? edited by Jean‑Benoit Pilet, Camille Bedock and Pierre‑Etienne Vandamme, 132–145. Lausanne: Frontiers Media. - Kahn, Sylvain. 2021. Histoire de la construction de l’Europe depuis 1945. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
- King, Anthony. 2007. The British Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Le Louarn, Patrick. 2002. “Démocratie de proximité et protection de l’environnement: La participation du citoyen local.” Revue Juridique de l’Environnement 27 (no. 4): 589–603. 10.3406/rjenv.2002.4073.
- Mair, Peter. 2013. Ruling the Void: The Hollowing Of Western Democracy. London: Verso Books.
- Meadowcroft, James, and Michael W. Taylor. 1990. “Liberalism and the Referendum in British Political Thought 1890–1914.” Twentieth Century British History 1 (no. 1): 35–57. 10.1093/tcbh/1.1.35.
- Morel, Laurence. 2021.
“The Referendum Experience in France.” In The Palgrave Handbook of European Referendums, edited by Julie Smith, 179–202. Cham: Springer. - Miard‑Delacroix, Hélène. 2022.
“Der Bundestag als Zentrum der repräsentative Demokratie seit 1949.” In Parlamentarismus in Deutschland von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart, edited by Andreas Biefang, Dominik Geppert, Marie‑Luise Recker and Andreas Wirsching, 331–358. Düsseldorf: Droste. - Müller, Jan‑Werner. 2011. Contesting Democracy: Political Ideas in Twentieth–Century Europe. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Palonen, Kari. 2018. “A Comparison between Three Ideal Types of Parliamentary Politics: Representation, Legislation and Deliberation.” Parliaments, Estates and Representation 38 (no. 1): 6–20. 10.1080/02606755.2018.1427325.
- Pharr, Susan J, Robert D. Putnam, and Russell J. Dalton. 2000. “A Quarter‑Century of Declining Confidence.” Journal of Democracy 11 (no. 2): 5–25. 10.1353/jod.2000.0043.
- Polletta, Francesca. 2014. “Participatory Democracy’s Moment.” Journal of International Affairs 68 (no. 1): 79–92.
- Rosanvallon, Pierre. 2018. Good Government: Democracy beyond Elections. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Power Inquiry. 2006. Power to the People. London: Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.
- Smith, Graham. 2009. Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Sénat. n.d. Comptes rendus intégraux des séances.
https://www.senat.fr/seances/seances.html . - Setälä, Maija. 1999. Referendums and Democratic Government: Normative Theory and the Analysis of Institutions. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Traynor, Ian. 1998. “Blair’s Spinmeister Startles the Germans.” The Guardian, March 16.
- Vibert, Frank. 2007. The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Vintzel, Céline. 2017. “Renforcer le Parlement Français: Les leçons du droit compare.” Jus Politicum Revue de Droit Politique 17: 677–705.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33134/rds.452 | Journal eISSN: 2308-0906
Language: English
Page range: 117 - 139
Submitted on: May 20, 2024
Accepted on: Jun 25, 2025
Published on: Dec 2, 2025
Published by: Helsinki University Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
© 2025 Hugo Bonin, Pasi Ihalainen, Zachris Haaparinne, published by Helsinki University Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.