Illustrations by Kaela Chambers As he officially announced the 2014 vote for an independent Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond looked and sounded as earnest as ever. His normally ruddy complexion was tempered by the soft light of the Scottish Parliament’s chambers as he revealed an inconspicuous pamphlet to his colleagues: “Your Scotland. Your Referendum.” The document was to be, as Salmond put it, an outline for the people of his Scottish N...
...hese systems persist on the political spectrum. On another level, the nation’s roughly 10 million Christians comprise 15% of the total population and seek empowerment from a religiously oppressive majority. The constitutional referendum of 2012 addressed sociopolitical issues like the strength of parliament and judicial procedures. Amongst the more controversial provisions were the transferring of discretionary powers of detention and trial to mi...
...s seem to have been degraded to ritual gestures, significant more for their symbolism than as acts that genuinely reflect the will of the people. This was perhaps never more obvious than in the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty referendum in 2008, when Ireland was the only member country to vote “no” on an amendment that would alter the policy election process to require a majority rather than unanimity, among other changes. Rather than respect th...
...til the National Electoral Court declared the processes to be illegal. While the government abided by this decision and delayed voting, the autonomist movement based in Santa Cruz has defied the ruling and carried on with the referendum. Although all signs point to an overwhelming victory for the regional referendum, the government has called the referendum anti-democratic and has pledged to ignore the results of the voting. Attempts by the churc...
...to an almost fanatical devotion to short, quick passing. For La Diada, Catalonia’s historic unofficial independence day, Guardiola released a video of himself holding up a symbolic ballot, backing the call for an independence referendum. Though the move was met with the expected euphoria among independence marchers, Spanish journalists agreed that the most successful living Spanish coach had effectively made any future aspiration to coach the Spa...
...he Netherlands and Austria, countries that, like Germany, have become sick of bailing out southern Europe, have seen a considerable rise in popularity of the far right. The Dutch Party of Freedom (PVV) even promised to hold a referendum if elected on whether the Netherlands should be part of the euro, and the PPV ultimately came in third in the general elections showing it is now a prominent player in Dutch politics. The rise of the far right in...
...the most important, is Iran. At the moment, Lieberman believes in the efficacy of sanctions to prevent Iran’s attainment of nuclear arms. He has said, “Based on my conversations with people who visit Iran, if you held a referendum – the nuclear program or quality of life – 70 to 80 percent would choose the second option. It’s not that they’re opposed to the nuclear program, but they aren’t willing to pay these...
...stay home on Election Day. The man at the bottom of the Republican ticket will surely receive much more attention than is typical for a running mate this election season, though, meaning November will not just be an approval referendum on Obama’s presidency where voters either pick Obama or “someone else”. Frankly, this is somewhat silly; Romney spends most of his time on the campaign trail criticizing the president’s record because he must do t...
...ly’s electorate. The average demographic of his voter is in fact young, educated and frustrated with Italy’s job market. His policies may seem rather populist–– they include diverse pledges such as eradicating labor unions, a referendum on the euro, and a 30-hour week–– yet it seems unclear whether his movement can survive on its own (yet alone govern). Nevertheless, Beppe Grillo’s success is a clear sign that Italian voters are fed up with both...
...r, many state governments, struggling to make money in the wake of the recession, began to push new legislation to limit the power of labor unions. This was especially evident in Senate Bill 5, a heavily-publicized Ohio state referendum. Supporters of the bill purported that it would save the state as much as $1.3 billion a year and limit the growth of government. But these “savings” would have come entirely at the expense of Ohio’s public worker...
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