Editing Referendum (section)

== History ==
The name and use of the 'referendum' is thought to have originated in the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] canton of [[Graubünden]] as early as the 16th century.<ref>Barber, Benjamin R.. ''The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton''. Princeton University Press, 1974, p. 179.</ref><ref>Vincent, J.M.. ''State and Federal Government in Switzerland'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, p.&nbsp;122</ref>

After a reduction in the number of referendums in the Mid-twentieth century, the referendum as a political tool has been increasing in popularity since the 1970s. This increase has been attributed to [[dealignment]] of the public with political parties, as specific policy issues became more important to the public than party identifiers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Silagadze |first1=Nanuli |last2=Gherghina |first2=Sergiu |date=January 2020 |title=Referendum Policies across Political Systems |journal=The Political Quarterly |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=182–191 |doi=10.1111/1467-923x.12790 |s2cid=213618720 |issn=0032-3179|doi-access=free }}</ref>