Party competition and plebiscitary politics in Austria

The article reviews the Austrian experience with plebiscitary democracy-two referenda and 19 initiatives-from a party competition perspective. Direct democratic instruments are designed to allow citizens to decide over or push for policy. However, in Austria these instruments have been used mainly by political parties to pursue their goals. While party position-taking in referenda aimed at both policy and votes, electoral considerations were dominant in the parties' use of the initiative. Indeed, the vast majority of party-directed initiatives improved the electoral position of the initiating or supporting party. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.