Cover -- Outline -- Contents -- Preface -- I. Introduction -- II. Definition and classification of direct democracy -- A. Popular sovereignty through referendums -- B. Mechanisms of direct democracy and veto player -- 1. Initiator of referendums -- a) Referendums required by the constitution -- b) Referendums from above -- c) Citizen-initiated referendums -- (a) Citizens' facultative referendum -- (b) Citizens' initiatives -- (c) Recall -- (d) Agenda initiative -- 2. The character of referendums -- 3. The intention of referendums -- 4. The normative level of referendums -- C. Constraints on mechanism of direct democracy -- III. The legal framework and practice of direct democracy in Estonia -- A. Direct democratic instruments in Estonia -- 1. Referendums required by the constitution -- a) The mandatory constitutional referendum -- 2. Referendums from above -- a) The parliamentary constitutional plebiscite -- b) The parliamentary plebiscite for other draft acts and national issues -- 3. Citizen-initiated referendums -- a) Initiative rights in the Constitution of 1920 -- b) The 'collective adresses to Riigikogu' -- 4. The legal assessment of referendums -- B. Estonian direct democracy in practice -- 1. The referendum of 3 March 1991 on Estonia's independence -- 2. The referendum of 28 June 1992 on the constitution -- 3. The referendum of 28 June 1992 on voting rights for those who did not yet have citizenship status -- 4. The referendum of 14 September 2003 on the accession to the European Union -- 5. Rejected draft acts in the Estonian parliament -- C. Explanations for the Estonian practice -- 1. Legal constraints -- 2. Informal constraints -- IV. The legal framework and practice of direct democracy in Latvia -- A. Direct democratic instruments in Latvia -- 1. Referendums required by the constitution -- a) The mandatory constitutional referendum.

b) The mandatory referendum on EU Membership -- 2. Referendums from above -- a) The parliamentary plebiscite for substantial changes in EU membership -- b) The semi-plebiscite on repealing a law -- c) The presidential plebiscite on recalling parliament -- 3. Citizen-initiated referendums -- a) The citizens' constitutional initiative -- b) The citizens' legislative initiative -- (a) A two-stage signature collection (until 2015) -- (b) A one round signature collection (in force as of 2015) -- (c) A quasi-indirect initiative procedure -- c) The citizens' initiative on recalling parliament -- 4. The legal assessment of citizens' initiatives -- B. Latvian direct democracy in practice -- 1. The referendum of 3 March 1991 on Latvia's independence -- 2. The referendum of 3 October 1998 on the repeal of the facilitated naturalisation amendment -- 3. The referendum of 13 November 1999 on the repeal of the pension system reform amendment -- 4. The referendum of 21 September 2003 on accession to the European Union -- 5. The referendum of 7 July 2007 on the repeal of amendments to the law on state security services -- 6. The referendum of 7 July 2007 on the repeal of amendments to the law on state security authorities -- 7. The referendum of 2 August 2008 on the dissolution of parliament by popular vote -- 8. The referendum of 23 August 2008 on a limited increase of public pensions -- 9. The referendum of 23 July 2011 on the early dissolution of the Saeima -- 10. The referendum of 18 February 2012 on Russian as the second official language -- 11. Proposed and adopted initiatives without holding referendums -- 12. Initiatives without sufficient signatures -- 13. Pending Initiatives -- C. Explanations for the Latvian practice -- 1. Legal constraints -- 2. Informal constraints -- V. The legal framework and practice of direct democracy in Lithuania.

A. Direct democratic instruments in Lithuania -- 1. Referendums required by constitution -- a) The mandatory constitutional referendum -- b) The mandatory referendum on the Constitutional Act -- c) The mandatory referendum on participation in an International Organisation -- d) The procedure of referendums required by the constitution -- 2. Referendums from above -- a) The parliamentary constitutional plebiscite -- b) The parliamentary plebiscite on other issues, laws and provisions -- 3. Citizen-initiated referendums -- a) The citizens' facultative referendum -- b) The citizens' constitutional initiative -- c) The citizens' initiative on laws and other issues -- d) The citizens' consultative initiative -- e) Procedures of citizens' initiatives -- f) The citizens' agenda initiative: something between a referendum and petition -- 4. The legal assessment of citizens' initiatives -- B. Lithuanian direct democracy in practice -- 1. The referendum of 9 February 1991 on Lithuania's independence -- 2. The referendum of 23 May 1992 on the restoration of the presidential institution -- 3. The referendum of 14 June 1992 on the withdrawal of Soviet troops -- 4. The referendum of 25 October 1992 on the constitution -- 5. The referendum of 27 August 1994 on the law revoking privatisation I-VIII -- 6. The referendum of 20 October 1996 on the compensation for lost assets prior to 1990 -- 7. The referendum of 20 October 1996 on parliamentary elections on the second Sunday of April every four years -- 8. The referendum of 20 October 1996 on the reduction of parliamentary seats from 141 to 111 -- 9. The referendum of 20 October 1996 on social spending -- 10. The referendum of 10 November 1996 on the purchase of agricultural land by certain legal bodies -- 11. The referendum of 10 and 11 May 2003 on the accession to the European Union.

12. The consultative referendum of 12 October 2008 on the service extension for the nuclear power plant 'Ignalina' -- 13. The consultative referendum of 14 October 2012 on building a new nuclear power plant 'Visaginas' -- 14. The referendum of 29 June 2014 regarding the amendment of articles 9, 47 and 147 of the constitution -- 15. Popular initiatives without sufficient signatures -- C. Explanations for the Lithuanian practice -- 1. Legal constraints -- 2. Informal constraints -- VI. The quality of direct democracy in the Baltic states -- A. A comparison of use and success of Baltic referendums -- B. Policy change through referendums -- C. Quality of direct democracy -- 1. Quality in Estonia -- 2. Quality in Latvia -- 3. Quality in Lithuania -- 4. The most striking variation between the Baltic states -- D. More than instruments -- VII. Conclusions -- A. Rich in instruments, moderate in use, poor in performance -- B. A better design for a better balance -- VIII. References -- Books and Journals -- Newspapers -- The Economist -- New York Times, The -- Official Documents -- EU -- Estonia -- Latvia -- Lithuania.