Constitutionalists' Guide To The Populist Challenge: Lessons

This chapter looks at the populist use of the secessionist arguments in divided societies and aims to explore the relationship between constitutional democracy and referendum in contexts characterised by new waves of populism. This chapter shall explore some comparative reflections concerning the risks connected to the “inappropriate” use of the referendum, especially in times of populism. This work is divided into two parts. In the first part I shall (briefly) explore the debate on how to proceduralise secession in light of the notion of “exit-related conditionality”. In the second part I shall highlight some reasons for prudence in the use of referendums in contexts of representative democracy.