The seventh volume of the Yearbook for Direct Democracy [Jahrbuch für direkte Demokratie] contains contributions from the fields of political science, jurisprudence and philosophy. Issues such as the “door opener function” of citizens’ initiatives, the Catalan independence referendum, the development of direct democracy in Latin America and the question of whether public participation and the random principle can complement direct democracy are analysed. The country reports on Switzerland and Austria are supplemented by a study on the referendum “Berlin needs Tegel” [“Berlin braucht Tegel”] of 24 September 2017 in Berlin.With contributions byProf. Dr. Nadja Braun Binder, Andreas Gutmann, ref. iur., Dr. Thomas Milic, Prof. Dr. Arne Pautsch, Prof. Dr. Klaus Poier, Frank Rehmet, Dipl. pol., Fabian Reidinger, M.A., Dr. Suzann-Viola Renninger, Lars Ruchti, MLaw, Barbara Schaub, BLaw, Daniel Toda Castán, Dipl.-Jurist, M.A., Prof. Dr. Axel Tschentscher, LL.M (Cornell), PD Dr. Yanina Welp, Hannes-Wezel, Dipl.-Pädagoge, Prof. Dr. Fabian Wittreck
