Populism and federalism: The interplay of direct democracy and federal institutions in Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the United States

This study examines the relationship between populism and federalism. In theory, these two conceptions of society are in conflict. Populism, in its most elemental form, sees the state as a tool for the “will of the people.” This will is seen as indivisible, indicating populism views society in a monist way. Federalism, on the other hand, recognizes diversity within the state through the division of sovereignty between the federal-level government and component parts of the state. Despite this theoretical conflict, however, populism, as operationalized by direct democracy, and federalism do co-exist in some federal states.; To examine this co-existence, this study uses data from ballot measures in four federal states—Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the United States—using federal-level cases from Australia, Canada and Switzerland as well as sub-national cases from selected Swiss cantons and American states in the period 1970–94. It also searches for intervening variables which may impact the relationship, focusing on the size of jurisdictions and the role of political parties.; The study concludes that populist devices may co-exist with federalism by serving as a check on national power, both through providing a popular check on legislative decisions and by restricting centralization in a federal system. Populism and federalism may also work together to provide different definitions of the “people” on different issues, but this is limited by the emergence and growth of both cooperative federalism and universal standards of rights.