Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly. Th e article focuses the referendum as the main instrument of direct democracy in Italy and the main purpose of the analysis is to discuss the benefi ts and handicaps of Italian referendum tools. Particularly the abolishment of the quorum for the abrogative referendum that is the main goal for the development of the Italian direct democracy. Th e contribute demonstrate in eleven main reasons why the turnout requirement should be abolished: the vote should be free and decisive, meaning that citizens who participate in a referendum should be aware that their vote will be decisive, whereas those who choose not to go to the polls implicitly delegate their vote and decision to other voters. Th e future is the ongoing people's initiative referendum draft which provides just a very reasonable approval quorum of 25%.

This paper offers an analysis of the possible COVID-19 post-lockdown effects on the powerful factors that constitute the Italian national interest. The interdisciplinary perspective, being at the base of this study, considers a scenario characterized by three factors: time, budgetary policy, and communication. Since the social post-lockdown crisis began, Italy has been facing a problem of social justice in terms of participation, which is absent for now, especially in the political framework. The policy proposals should take account of unpopular decisions, whereas from a legal and geopolitical perspective it is necessary to have a more defined foreign policy, a clearer Italian positioning concerning international alliances with national interest as a reference point.

This article analyses and compares the legal tools of direct democracy in Latvia and other European countries. Based on comparison, the author draws concludes the shortcomings of the legal framework of direct democracy in the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia. The author analyzes functioning of the direct democracy tools in Latvian practice and compares them with similar tools in other European countries, expressing his criticism towards Latvian legislation on the referendum and people’s initiative, finding that some mechanisms included in the Constitution are old-fashioned and ineffective. The article identifies actual shortcomings of the legal framework of the referendum and popular initiative both at the level of the Constitution and that of the law and makes suggestions for improvements of the mechanisms of direct democracy, particularly taking into account the experience of the other Baltic countries. Este artículo analiza y compara las herramientas legales de la democracia directa en Letonia y en otros países europeos. Sobre la base de la comparación, el autor extrae conclusiones sobre las deficiencias del marco legal de la democracia directa letona. El autor analiza la legislación y la práctica letona sobre el referéndum y la iniciativa popular comparándola con las de otros países europeos, incluido el referéndum sobre la disolución del Parlamento, expresando críticas de que una serie de institutos parecen anticuados e ineficaces. El artículo identifica las deficiencias actuales del marco legal del referéndum y de la iniciativa popular tanto a nivel constitucional como legislativo e indica sugerencias para mejorar los mecanismos de la democracia directa letona, particularmente teniendo en cuenta la experiencia de otros países bálticos.

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