plebiscitarian
- adjective
- /ˌplɛbɪsɪˈtɛriən/
- Specialized
- In a plebiscitarian democracy, major decisions are often made through national referendums.
Examples
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Lamounier stresses internal tension in the Brazilian system of government: a large number of independent power centers in the party, parliamentary, and federative arenas coexist with a plebiscitarian presidency.
Academic text (1996) -
Many political analysts argue that a plebiscitarian system can better reflect the will of the people.
-
The plebiscitarian approach allowed citizens to vote directly on the proposed reforms.
Synonyms
1
9.8
To ask people to vote directly to approve important decisions
Surface Forms
Morphology
plebiscitarian = plebiscite (transparent) = plebiscite + arian
Formed by the noun 'plebiscite' plus the productive suffix '-arian' meaning 'relating to' or 'supporter of', so the meaning is directly derived.
Etymology
Plebiscitarian comes from plebiscite, a word built on the old word plebs meaning 'the people'. So a plebiscitarian process is one decided by direct votes of the people.