The Politics of Recall Elections

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. The Politics of Recall Elections

   • Yanina Welp, Laurence Whitehead

   Pages 1-7

3. Recall: Democratic Advance, Safety Valve or Risky Adventure?

   • Yanina Welp, Laurence Whitehead

   Pages 9-27

4. The Political Theory of the Recall. A Study in the History of the Ideas

   • Matt Qvortrup

   Pages 29-48

5. The Recall in France: A long standing and unresolved debate

   • Clara Egger, Raul Magni-Berton

   Pages 49-72

6. Recall Elections in the US: Its Long Past and Uncertain Future

   • Joshua Spivak

   Pages 73-93

7. Recall in Japan as a Measure of Vertical Accountability

   • Mitsuhiko Okamoto, Uwe Serdült

   Pages 95-116

8. Explaining Institutional Change Towards Recall in Germany

   • Brigitte Geißel, Stefan Jung

   Pages 117-141

9. Recall Practices in Central and Eastern Europe: From Citizen Accountability to Partisan Account Settling

   • Sergiu Mișcoiu

   Pages 143-157

10. The Recall Revival and Its Mixed Implications for Democracy: Evidence from Latin America

    • Yanina Welp, Laurence Whitehead

    Pages 159-178

11. Reselection and Deselection in the Political Party

    • Jonathan White, Lea Ypi

    Pages 179-199

12. Narratives of Executive Downfall: Recall, Impeachment, or Coup?

    • Aníbal Pérez-Liñán

    Pages 201-228

13. On Reconciling Recall with Representation

    • Laurence Whitehead

    Pages 229-247

14. Back Matter

    Pages 249-251

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This edited volume presents the first comprehensive analysis of recall processes which have spread globally since the end of the Cold War, and which are now re-configuring the political dynamics of electoral democracy. Drawing on the expertise of country experts, the book provides a coherent and theoretically informed framework for mapping and evaluating this fast-evolving phenomenon. While the existing literature on the subject has so far focused on isolated single-country studies, the collection brings recall experiments to centre stage as it relates them to current crises in the traditional variants of representative democracy. It explains why the spread of recall innovations is set to continue, and to pass a threshold from inattention to urgent engagement. The authors further provide original insights into the rationale for recall, as well as guidance on minimising the accompanying risks.

• politics of recall
• recall regulations
• representative democracy
• voter disenchantment
• electoral politics
• political theory of recall
• recall elections in France
• recall elections in the US
• recall elections in Japan
• recall elections in Germany
• institutional change
• recall practices in Central and Eastern Europe
• citizen accountability
• recall referendums
• recall elections in Latin America
• democratic partisanship
• civic participation
• direct democracy
• votes of no confidence
• impeachment
• democracy

​"The comparative analysis of electoral systems and practices continues to flourish and expand. This innovative volume adds new depth to our understanding of recall elections, a longstanding but hitherto understudied subfield that has grown and flourished over the past decade. Like it or not, recall elections are spreading and this study enables political scientists to evaluate their impact." (David Butler, Emeritus Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK)

"Remarkable for its historical depth, comparative sweep and sensitivity to context, this timely collection of studies examines a wide variety of experiences with “recall” procedures across the globe. The important theoretical and normative questions addressed here will change the debate on accountability, temporality of political authority and popular sovereignty." (Shalini Randeria, Director Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland)


"This thoughtful collection of fine essays shows why angry impatience with elected representatives fuels efforts to throw them from office – and why recall, a cognate principle of representative democracy, can be misused in practice to weaken or destroy it outright." (John Keane, Professor of Politics, University of Sydney, Australia, and Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Germany)


"The recall of elected officials is often neglected in democratic theory. Yet if the ideal of democracy is grounded in our political equality, and if it also applies to the relationship between ordinary citizens and elected officials, then the politics of recall is crucially important. In this volume, leading scholars in the field bring a variety of perspectives to bear on recall elections and provide a global, state-of-the-art overview. Highly recommended!" (Steffen Ganghof, Chair of Comparative Politics, University of Potsdam, Germany)


"This is the first contribution that seriously takes recall referenda under the radar of academic research. The book addresses the comparative description of the features of different institutional designs, causes and consequences of the global diffusion of recalls, the gap between theoretical aspirations and the practical use of recalls through case-studies. This is an indispensable contribution at times of a generalised citizen disenchantment with traditional models of electoral representation." (Mariana Llanos, GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies, Germany)


"In critical phases of representative democracy, a significant device to overcome it and reconnect democratic institutions to citizens is the recall, a procedure to remove elected politicians from office. Thus, for anyone interested in our democratic future, a full awareness of how this device works in USA, France, Germany, Japan, Eastern European countries, Latin America, seems necessary. The authors provide that awareness with lucid, in-depth accounts that eventually give new hopes for democracy." (Leonardo Morlino, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Luiss G. Carli, Italy)

• Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland

  Yanina Welp

• Nuffield College, Oxford, UK

  Laurence Whitehead

Yanina Welp is Associate Researcher in the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy, Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland. Her main areas of study are the introduction and practices of mechanisms of direct and participatory democracy, and digital media and politics. She has published extensively on these topics in academic journals such as International Political Science Review, Democratization and Revista Española de Ciencia Política and books.


Laurence Whitehead is Senior Research Fellow in Politics at Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK, and editor of the Oxford Studies in Democratisation series. His publications include the books Democratisation: Theory and Experience (2002), and Let the People Rule? Direct Democracy in the Twenty-First Century (with Y. Welp, 2017), as well as the article "Recall of Elected Officeholders: The Growing Incidence of a Venerable, but Overlooked, Democratic Institution" published in Democratization (October 2018).

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