The Strategic Use of Government-Sponsored Referendums in Contemporary Europe: Issues and Implications

Referendums, especially those which are not constitutionally mandated, have often been usedstrategically in the context of both democratic and non-democratic regimes by political actorswishing to achieve specific goals. Engaging with the extant literature on the subject, this articleanalyses four government-sponsored referendums which took place between 2015 and 2016 inGreece, Britain, Hungary and Italy. The focus of the analysis is twofold. The first purpose is to debunkthe political risk calculation underpinning the government’s decision to sponsor a referendum ineach of the cases considered. The second is to suggest that the strategic use of referendum bygovernments in contemporary Europe can be better understood if read in light of the recent upsurgeof populist movements