[2011.04.20] 美国内外

加州民主特别报道

美国内外

直接民主（注1）正散播全球，但各具特色

Apr 20th 2011 | from the print edition

全美50州的州民，间或会参与本州议会提出的公投。但仅有24州被认为拥有全州范围的直接民主。直接民主的定义是：市民亲自行使创制权（注2）或复决权（注3）投票的过程。而其与州议会提出的公投，迥然有别。美国史上曾有2000多次全州范围的创制，其中绝大多数发生在俄勒冈州、加利福尼亚州及科罗拉多州领衔的少数几州。在这些州，直接民主实际上成了政府第四部门；而在别的州，直接民主则无足轻重或沦为配角。但就法律与文化而言，专家Dane Waters称，“加州全然不同。”

有三个州，创制权只许修订州宪法，伊利诺斯州名列其中，该州创制修宪尤为艰难，以致于有约束力且获准公投的创制，仅有一次。另外六州，创制权则只许制定法规。有些州收集签名不限时，其他州要限时数月。加州则限时150天，留给倡议签名收集者（注4）的时间极少。而像北达科他州、蒙大拿州及俄亥俄州等州，创制获准公投只需少数签名；而其他州，如怀俄明州，则要大量签名。

即便抛开政治文化不谈，上述细微差别，也影响了直接民主的施行方式。加州市场广阔，广告昂贵，只能用很短的时间收集许多签名，钱至关重要。而在一个呈同质性（注5）的小州，如蒙大拿州，直接民主就不费力了，可用老式的志愿者方式收集签名。

“欧洲创制与复决研究所”（the Initiative and Referendum Institute Europe）总裁Bruno Kaufmann是位瑞士籍瑞典人，他称直接民主也在全球蓬勃发展。瑞士仍是全球标杆。但乌拉圭、菲律宾及新西兰等国也有了自己的直接民主形式，而像泰国、巴西和韩国等地，则正采用或扩大自个的直接民主。欧盟刚引入了世上首个超国家（注6）的创制过程，其电子化的签名收集方式相当别致。

多数情况下，复决是主要手段。Kaufmann先生称，那些正试行创制过程的国家，常常希望达到瑞士的理想状态，能在选民与立法机构间实现对话，这种情况下，投票措施至少可充当“螺丝刀”，这儿紧紧，那儿松松。但选民与立法机构“对立”的加州模式，创制则是“铁榔头”，砸烂一切，应予避免。




注1：Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of governance in which people collectively make decisions for themselves, rather than having their political affairs decided by representatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy".[1] Depending on the particular system in use, it might entail passing executive motions, making laws, electing or dismissing officials and conducting trials. Direct democracy stands in contrast to arepresentative democracy in which the decisive authority is vested in a subset of people, usually on the basis of election.
Many countries that are representative democracies allow for three forms of political action that provide limited direct democracy: initiative, referendum (plebiscite), andrecall. Referendums can include the ability to hold a binding referendum on whether a given law should be rejected. This effectively grants the populace which holds suffrage aveto on government legislation. Initiatives, usually put forward by the populace, force the consideration of laws or amendments (usually by a subsequent referendum), without the consent of the elected officials, or even in opposition to the will of said officials. Recalls give people the right to remove elected officials from office before the end of their term, although this is very rare in modern democracies.
直接民主制是一种民主体制的理论。该理论认为每一个公民也应该可以直接参与所有政策的制订，而方法是全体投票来决定，例如公民投票便是其中一种实践直接民主的方式。完全的直接民主体制指的是所有公民为政策做决定，完全的直接民主需要动用到过多人力物力，并不切实际，因此在现实世界上，大多数民主国家使用的主要是代议民主制，近年来多数国家也将直接民主引进以改善代议民主的不足。直接民主使用的代表国家为瑞士，经常使用全民投票决定政策。

注2：initiatives
In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizen's initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote (plebiscite) on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or ordinance, or, in its minimal form, to simply oblige the executive or legislative bodies to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. It is a form of direct democracy.
The initiative may take the form of either the direct initiative or indirect initiative. Under the direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a vote after being submitted by a petition. Under the indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. In United States usage, a popular vote on a specific measure is referred to as a referendum only when originating with the legislature. Such a vote is known, when originating in the initiative process, as an "initiative," "ballot measure" or "proposition."
一般译为“创制”、“倡议”、“立法提案权”

注3：referendums
A referendum (also known as a plebiscite or a ballot question) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy.
一般译为“复决”、“复决投票权”

注4：circulators
A petition circulator, also called a "circulator", "signature gatherer", or "signature collector", is a campaign worker who asks voters to sign a petitionto place a ballot initiative, referendum, recall, or candidate on the ballot. Such workers may be volunteers, amateurs or experienced professionals.
Most campaigns require the use of paid petition circulators: usually independent contractors who are paid by the signature.

注5：homogeneous
Homogeneity is the state of being homogeneous. Pertaining to the sciences, it is a substance where all the constituents are of the same nature; consisting of similar parts, or of elements of the like nature. For example, homogeneous particles, homogeneous elements, homogeneous principles, or homogeneous bodies; or (algebra) possessing the same number of factors of a given kind, as with a homogeneous polynomial.
一般译为 “均态”，而修饰state（州）或“社会”时，则多译为“同质性”，与“异质性”相对。其理解可参见“社会资本”概念，如下：
同质性社会资本
　　同质性社会资本主要是指关系网络的构成以熟人为主体,把有共同的邻居、民族、宗教或家庭关系的人整合为紧密的社会关系,将之细分为家族型社会资本、宗族型社会资本、亲族型社会资本、乡土型社会资本、情感型社会资本等，具有一定的先赋性、封闭性和内聚性。
异质性社会资本
       异质性社会资本往往基于现代法理因素而建构，如基于业缘或趣缘关系建构的同事型社会资本、同学型社会资本、战友型社会资本、兴趣型社会资本，也有基于某一公益目的或行业利益目的而形成的，如现代公民型的各类社会团体组织、社会中介组织、各类行业协会、社区共同体等法理型社会资本。

注6：supranational
欧洲一体化和作为政治体系的欧盟表现出了"低于超国家的，但高于政府间的"或"低于主权国家的，但高于国际组织的"共同体性质与特点，其或许正在从从政府间联盟走向邦联、超国家制度直到联邦制，这样一种复杂、多层次、多方面变化和调整的进程，需要在宪政理论层面进行整合与创新，才能推动欧盟的发展。在理论整合方面，已经开始有学者进行尝试。而1990年代学术界较为流行的"治理"（governance）理论也开始被融入到了欧洲一体化宪政理论当中，"欧洲治理"理论把欧盟界定为一种"超国家治理"（supranational governance），成员国政府不再是政治的惟一主体，治理的是政府与非政府，国家与社会之间的协调而非单纯的政府控制。在这个过程中，欧盟实际上获得了传统国家的某些功能，尤其是规范政策的功能，其结果是向建立超国家政府的目标前进。值得强调的是治理理念所突出的民主精神，是以往任何一种理论所不具有的，因此经过这样一种整合与创新，欧洲一体化与欧盟制宪的宪政理论基础便显得清晰了许多，下一步我们则需要探讨制宪的一些技术性问题。