David Altman
David Altman is professor of political science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He received his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Notre Dame. His research and teaching interests lie in the field of comparative politics with an emphasis on democracy, focusing on its quality, institutions, performance, and innovations. He is the author of Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Direct Democracy Worldwide (Cambridge University Press, 2011), which won the Uruguayan National Prize of Political Science for the best book. He has contributed articles in leading social science journals as well as chapters in edited volumes. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), FLACSO (Ecuador), the Universidad de la República (Uruguay), the University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), the Institute of Developing Economies (Japan), and the Scuola Normale Superiore (Florence, Italy). He is Project Manager for the “Varieties of Democracy” research collaborative. E-Mail: daltman@uc.cl
Supervisors: Michael Coppedge, Scott Mainwaring, and Guillermo O'Donnell
Phone: +(56-2) 2354-7819
Address: Av.Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul
Santiago de Chile. Código Postal 782-0436, Chile
Supervisors: Michael Coppedge, Scott Mainwaring, and Guillermo O'Donnell
Phone: +(56-2) 2354-7819
Address: Av.Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul
Santiago de Chile. Código Postal 782-0436, Chile
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Reviews & Endorsements
Advance praise: 'Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy offers a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the origins and effects of popular initiatives, referenda, and other forms of direct democracy. Altman makes a compelling case, and shows that the impact of popular initiatives extends well beyond the often attention-grabbing election outcomes. Those of us who care about the fate of liberal democracy should pay close attention.' Steven Levitsky, Harvard University
Advance praise: 'Deftly combining historical case studies and broad cross-national statistical overviews, author David Altman challenges misperceptions about direct democracy and shows that it can augment representative democracy by cultivating consensus-building and increasing citizen engagement. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy combines depth and breadth to tackle an important issue of our time and should be read by anyone interested in improving the quality of democracy around the world today.' Pamela Paxton, Linda K. George and John Wilson Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
Advance praise: 'David Altman’s new book on direct democracy blends theoretical insights with descriptive facility, presenting a thorough analysis of the remedial properties and potentials of direct democratic institutions within the institutional framework of representative democracy. I cannot think of another scholar as well qualified as David Altman to write a book of this kind, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.' Adrian Vatter, Chair of Swiss Politics, Institute of Political Science, University of Bern
Advance praise: 'This precisely theorized, empirically sophisticated, and normatively attentive book is required reading for anyone interested in how and whether mechanisms of direct democracy might deepen democracy within representative political systems. Timely and important for an era in which mechanisms of direct democracy are an increasingly popular response to disillusionment with representative democracy.' Mark E. Warren, Merilees Chair for the Study of Democracy, University of British Columbia
residents for all political spheres (local, intermediate and national): Uruguay in 1934, New Zealand in 1975, Chile in 1980, Malawi in 1994, and Ecuador in 2008. These cases constitute a unique intercontinental medley and an opportunity to study the conditions behind such revolutionary change. Through a calibrated comparative strategy based on most similar system designs (inspired by Mill’s method of difference) using QCA, this
paper finds that the extension of national voting rights to noncitizen
residents transpired in two distinct scenarios. The first setting (Chile, New Zealand, and Uruguay) took place within unitary states with already-existing local voting rights for noncitizen residents and settler trajectories, but that were not undergoing a liberalisation process. On the other hand, the second configuration (Ecuador and Malawi) developed within
unitary states that recognised nationality by ius soli and were going through a process of liberalisation, but without previous local voting rights for non-citizen residents or a settler trajectory. To our best knowledge, this paper offers the first cross-national explanation that involves all cases that have broadened their respective political communities (demoi) to include national voting rights to all non-citizen residents.
Reviews & Endorsements
Advance praise: 'Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy offers a comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the origins and effects of popular initiatives, referenda, and other forms of direct democracy. Altman makes a compelling case, and shows that the impact of popular initiatives extends well beyond the often attention-grabbing election outcomes. Those of us who care about the fate of liberal democracy should pay close attention.' Steven Levitsky, Harvard University
Advance praise: 'Deftly combining historical case studies and broad cross-national statistical overviews, author David Altman challenges misperceptions about direct democracy and shows that it can augment representative democracy by cultivating consensus-building and increasing citizen engagement. Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy combines depth and breadth to tackle an important issue of our time and should be read by anyone interested in improving the quality of democracy around the world today.' Pamela Paxton, Linda K. George and John Wilson Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Austin
Advance praise: 'David Altman’s new book on direct democracy blends theoretical insights with descriptive facility, presenting a thorough analysis of the remedial properties and potentials of direct democratic institutions within the institutional framework of representative democracy. I cannot think of another scholar as well qualified as David Altman to write a book of this kind, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.' Adrian Vatter, Chair of Swiss Politics, Institute of Political Science, University of Bern
Advance praise: 'This precisely theorized, empirically sophisticated, and normatively attentive book is required reading for anyone interested in how and whether mechanisms of direct democracy might deepen democracy within representative political systems. Timely and important for an era in which mechanisms of direct democracy are an increasingly popular response to disillusionment with representative democracy.' Mark E. Warren, Merilees Chair for the Study of Democracy, University of British Columbia
residents for all political spheres (local, intermediate and national): Uruguay in 1934, New Zealand in 1975, Chile in 1980, Malawi in 1994, and Ecuador in 2008. These cases constitute a unique intercontinental medley and an opportunity to study the conditions behind such revolutionary change. Through a calibrated comparative strategy based on most similar system designs (inspired by Mill’s method of difference) using QCA, this
paper finds that the extension of national voting rights to noncitizen
residents transpired in two distinct scenarios. The first setting (Chile, New Zealand, and Uruguay) took place within unitary states with already-existing local voting rights for noncitizen residents and settler trajectories, but that were not undergoing a liberalisation process. On the other hand, the second configuration (Ecuador and Malawi) developed within
unitary states that recognised nationality by ius soli and were going through a process of liberalisation, but without previous local voting rights for non-citizen residents or a settler trajectory. To our best knowledge, this paper offers the first cross-national explanation that involves all cases that have broadened their respective political communities (demoi) to include national voting rights to all non-citizen residents.
Abstract
This study examines the different ways in which citizens decide directly at the polls on topics of their concern. The direct appeal to the citizenry seems to be increasingly popular in the region and many authors do not see in it more than the use of institutional resources by the authorities to advance a particular political agenda. However, direct democracy is a much more heterogeneous phenomenon than
these authors usually grant. In fact, the results of popular votes are generally much tighter than one might assume. Surprisingly, the evidence shows that when used by government agents in Latin America, the rate acceptance does not exceed 55%, even lower than the rate of approval when they are initiated by citizens (56%). This does not mean that, on occasions, authorities use them as exercises of popular mobilization or as tools seeking popular legitimization of the desires of political elites.
This chapter seeks to fill this gap by focusing of how the interaction between international factors and the political strategies of local actors influenced the success of the Chilean transition. In terms of the international context, we argue that the transition process was mainly conditioned by changes in international politics of the U.S. government and its relations with the military regime, and by the strong international economic crisis that hit Chile - as most of the region - in the early eighties. Both events contributed to a political opening and the articulation of a democratic opposition; a process that during the early years of Pinochet's regime was fraught with difficulty, mainly due to the fact that political and civil liberties were drastically restricted.