By combining a general theoretical framework with empirical case studies of eleven recent initiatives and referendums, this text provides students with a set of analytical tools and examples to help them better understand real politics. It clarifies the public consequences, and studies the great variations of what happens to initiatives that win on Election Day and withstand judicial review. Research is presented in an effective and efficient manner, along with key factors that lead policy actors to implement and enforce initiatives and referendums fully, partially, and not at all—a social phenomenon that affects our lives in fundamental ways.