Portal:Politics/Selected article/2008, week 18

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 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. It has also been referred to as "minority initiative," thus relating it to minority influence. Furthermore, it is, in itself, a politically neutral tool, despite its name which refers it to the "people." It can be used as well for conservative proposal as for progressive ends.