Democracy discussions and direct participation forms of modern democracy in the context of referendums between 2011 and 2018 in switzerland

Our thesis research has been examined direct democracy in the context of referendums held between 2011 – 2018 as a form of political participation in modern Switzerland. First of all, the meanings of democracy have been explored in order to make a definition of democracy, then the mechanisms of participation in the Ancient Greek World, which was the first form of democracy was studied. Lliberalism as well as the conditions that make democracy more universal than ever are discussed based on the works of Ellen Wood, T.H. Marshall and Joseph Schumpeter. The works of these thinkers, who constitute our theoretical context, have been examined under four different headings in which democracy is treated in the context of as class struggle, rights clusters, identity rights and a procedure itself. After the discussion of the direct and representative democracy and the debate on the applicability of direct democracy in the modern world, the case study of our thesis is carried on. The functioning of modern direct political participation mechanisms was discussed in the context of the referenda between the years 2011-2018 held in Switzerland. Based on the results, discussions and certain contradictions of referenda were discussed as well as the "level of directness" of the Suisse democracy model. Hence, the Suisse Political system was taken as a case study with the consideration of possibilities of direct democracy in the modern world. The referendums made in Switzerland from 2011 to 2018 were tabulated based on their topics, policy areas, results and participation rates. Even though Swiss democracy has mechanisms such as popular initiative that allows citizens to participate directly in politics by proposing a constitutional amendment, the representative government is always thought to be the dominant level.