Plebiscite

plebiscite (plĕb`ĭsīt) [Lat.,=popular decree], vote of the people on a question submitted to them, as in a referendum. The term, however, has acquired the more specific meaning of a popular vote concerning changes of sovereignty, as compared to a regularized system of popular voting upon laws and constitutional amendments. This more modern use of the plebiscite arose out of the French Revolution and the French Republic's policy of holding popular votes on the question of French annexation of a territory it had occupied. Many, although not all, of these plebiscites and those held in the following century were manipulated by the occupying power to legitimate an outcome already achieved through military or diplomatic means. The use of the plebiscite reached a high point following World War I, when it was employed extensively in Central and Eastern Europe to determine the boundaries of newly created nation states. Since then, it has been used in settling the status of disputed or border territories, e.g., Saarland (1935) and, most recently, in the process of the decolonization of Africa and Asia, e.g., West New Guinea (1969; see Papua) and Namibia (1989).

Bibliography

See S. Wambaugh, Plebiscites since the World War (1933); L. T. Farley, Plebiscites and Sovereignty (1986).

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plebiscite

Vote by the people of an entire country or district to decide an issue. Voters are asked to accept or reject a given proposal rather than choose between alternative proposals. By means of plebiscites, intermediaries such as political parties can be bypassed. Because plebiscites offer a way to claim a popular mandate without permitting an opposition party, totalitarian regimes have used them to legitimize their power. See also referendum and initiative.

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plebiscite

1. a direct vote by the electorate of a state, region, etc., on some question of usually national importance, such as union with another state or acceptance of a government programme

2. any expression or determination of public opinion on some matter

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Plebiscite 

(1) In ancient Rome, a resolution (plebiscitum) passed by assemblies of the plebs. The plebiscite, which originated in the early fifth century B.C., was not confirmed by the Senate and was originally binding only on the plebs. The plebiscite became binding on all the people through the laws of Valerius and Horatius (449 B.C.), Publius Philo (339 B.C.), and Hortensius (287 B.C.). In the third century B.C., lex (law) gradually replaced the plebiscite.

(2) A type of popular vote. As a rule, a plebiscite is conducted by a state that has annexed a foreign territory. The population is offered a plebiscite in order to give an accomplished fact the appearance of popular sanction.

In international relations, a plebiscite is held when foreign territories are seized or annexed in order to determine the will of the people in regard to state affiliation.

As stipulated by the Constitution of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR or its Presidium may submit a draft law for a national discussion or a national referendum either on its own initiative or at request of a Soviet Republic.