Do new technologies represent a turning point? This question was the beginning of a project on modern direct democracy, which resulted in the DISPUTE conference "Past, Present and Future of Direct Democracy", which took place on October 19th and 20th, 2018 at the Istituto Svizzero in Rome. The event was designed as an exchange between Switzerland and Italy, with the political cultures of the two neighboring countries being put up for discussion as case studies. While Switzerland is often regarded as an exemplary case of modern direct democracy, in recent years Italy has had heated discussions about its representative institutions. This was the starting point for an international exchange across cultural, linguistic and disciplinary boundaries.