The Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau now produces an annual overview of referendums held in Switzerland and around the world. Political expert Mara Labud explains why this is important. “Direct democracy is of great interest to us in and of itself,” says Mara Labud of the Centre for Democracy Studies Aarau (ZDA), a research institute in the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. After all, it is “the most direct way for people to decide what rules they want to live by”. The expert is one of the authors of the 2025 World of Referendums report. The ZDA plans henceforth to publish a yearly overview of the global state of direct democracy. While Switzerland features prominently in the report – many of the world’s referendums take place there – the text also highlights how popular votes have been held in countries such as Ecuador and Slovenia. No US military bases in Ecuador In 2025, nine countries plus the Cayman Islands – a British Overseas Territory – held referendums. In Ecuador, for ...
