ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the relationship between direct democracy and populism, with a special focus on two deeply multilingual societies: Switzerland and Belgium. Its aim is twofold. First, it shows that a populism-driven scepticism towards direct democracy rests on shaky ground. In particular, it is argued that a frequent use of direct democracy can structurally undermine populism, because it challenges the populist fiction of a unified people. Second, the chapter draws inspiration from the Swiss experience to discuss the case of Belgium and the potential effects of direct democracy on that country. It concludes by presenting three recommendations that deeply divided societies might wish to follow if they want to incorporate into their institutional set-ups certain mechanisms of direct democracy such as popular initiative and referendum.
