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Insights from the Field

Sovereignty Referendums Explode in Number: What Does It Mean for Governance?


sovereignty referendums
europe
americas
dataset compilation
typology development
outcome patterns
Comparative Politics
BJPS
1 PDF files
1 other files
1 archives
Dataverse
Contested Sovereignty: Mapping Referendums on Sovereignty over Time and Space was authored by Fernando Mendez and Micha Germann. It was published by Cambridge in BJPS in 2018.

Recent years have seen a surge in sovereignty referendums worldwide. This article introduces a groundbreaking dataset with over double the entries previously available, spanning from 1776 to 2012 and covering key regions.

New Dataset Development

Drawing on refined conceptual frameworks and theory-driven typologies, we've compiled comprehensive records of these political events, addressing issues like vague definitions and inconsistent categorizations that plagued earlier studies.

🔍 Data & Methods

  • Created a new compilation with 602 sovereignty referendums entries
  • Time period: 1776–2012
  • Geographic coverage includes major regions (Europe, Americas, Asia)

⚡ Key Discoveries

Our exploratory analysis reveals:

  • Eight distinct clusters of referendum activity
  • Clear patterns emerge across different time periods and geographic locations
  • Consistent outcome categorization becomes possible for future research

This robust dataset provides political scientists with the foundation needed to systematically investigate sovereignty referendums' historical trajectory, spatial distribution, and varied outcomes.

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