Neue Publikation von Professor Towfigh

Are direct-democratic decisions more acceptable to voters than decisions arrived at through representative procedures? An experimental online vignette study with a German sample was conducted to investigate how voters’ acceptance of a political decision depends on the process through which it is reached. For a set of different issues, it was investigated how acceptance varies depending on whether the decision is the result of a direct-democratic institution, a party in a representative democracy, or an expert committee. The results show amongst others that for important issues, direct democracy generates greater acceptance.