The Hamburg Lecture Series in Public & Comparative Law continues with a third event on the new book “The Limits and Legitimacy of Referendums” (OUP 2022).
Professors Richard Albert and Richard Stacey expose the paradox of referendums: they are mechanisms of democratic choice but they can generate outcomes that do violence to the basic principles of democracy. Is this an irreconcilable tension? How should we evaluate the legitimacy of referendums? In this edition of the Hamburg Public and Comparative Law Lecture Series, Professors Albert and Stacey will explore two central themes in their book—who are the “people” and why referendums? —and then engage in conversation about the promise and pitfalls of mechanisms of popular choice.
Professors Richard Albert and Richard Stacey expose the paradox of referendums: they are mechanisms of democratic choice but they can generate outcomes that do violence to the basic principles of democracy. Is this an irreconcilable tension? How should we evaluate the legitimacy of referendums? In this edition of the Hamburg Public and Comparative Law Lecture Series, Professors Albert and Stacey will explore two central themes in their book—who are the “people” and why referendums? —and then engage in conversation about the promise and pitfalls of mechanisms of popular choice.
Hosts: Dr. Amal Sehti & Dr. Anne Dienelt