Bürgerbegehren und Bürgerentscheid in Freiberg - 1999 bis 2008

Saxony is one of Germany’s pioneering states when it comes to direct democracy, introducing public petitions and referendums as early as during the Weimar Republic. After 1990, there was another spate of citizens’ initiatives in a vast number of towns, cities and local communities. Between 1990 and 2008, the university town of Freiberg had vastly differing experiences of a number of public petitions which related to a diverse range of subjects. The groups that initiated these petitions were also equally as diverse: political parties, groups of voters with no strong ties to one political party, lobby groups and citizens’ action groups. In some instances, the petitions were initiated by ordinary citizens and market traders, but in others also by local politicians. Under the guidance of Prof. Dr Christopher Schmidt, students from the University of Esslingen have now embarked on in-depth research into this fascinating chapter in Freiberg’s history, the results of which are published in this book. In addition to depicting the individual public petitions that were initiated, it examines the legal foundations of citizens’ initiatives and referendums in Saxony.

With contributions by
Christopher A. Schmidt, Juliane de Pay, Janine Lebküchner, Vanessa Mayer and Hanife Tozman