"This book is about this conflict between the ethnos and the demos, and about the problems that are raised when solutions to ethnic and national issues and conflicts are sought through referendums. Its main focus is on determining when different kinds of referendums on ethnonational issues occur and also on determining if they lead to exacerbation of conflict or the opposite-if balloting can stop bullets. Referendums have often been perceived to be incompatible with nationalism. This book looks at these conflicts through a comprehensive study of all the referendums held on ethnic and nationalist issues from the French Revolution to the 2020 referendum on independence for New Caledonia"--