CULTURE, SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN THE
GERMAN-SPEAKING COUNTRIES- IRE214
Fall 2018 Session 10: Switzerland II
Maya Hadar
 Democracy
 Models of Democracy: a comparative analysis
 Federalism
 Federalism and Confederalism
 The Swiss Political System
 Direct Democracy, Referendm, Popular Initiatives
 Power Sharing (Consensus Democracy)
 Multicultural concept of the state
 Proportional representation
Switzerland II2
Democracy
 “Government by the people”; the people are
sovereign
 Rousseau => laws have authority because they are
social contracts between free and equal citizens
 Was against the transfer of sovereignty to the
state, ruler or representatives
 Ancient Democracy
 Social contracts were put together by a popular
assembly
Democracy
 Modern Democracy: two equal channels:
 Representatives => Parliament: permanent decision making forum
 Direct-democratic
 Direct Democracy: Basic notions
 The most important decisions of the parliament are subject to the
people‘s vote (referendum)
 The people has the right to propose its own ideas for basic legislation
and to vote on them (popular initiative)
 Power sharing
Models of Democracy: a Comparative Analysis
The Majoritarian (Westminster) Model:
 Concentration of executive power: one-party
 Two-party system
 One-dimensional party system
 Centralised government
 Unwritten constitution and parliamentary sovereignty
The Consensus/ Power sharing (Dutch, Swiss) Model:
 Executive power: grand coalitions
 Multiparty System, minority representation
 Proportional representation
 Federalism and decentralisation
 Written constitution
Models of Democracy: a Comparative Analysis
7
Majoritarian & Consensus Democracy
Consensus
Majoritarian
Majoritarian Democracy
Why Majoritarian Democracy may not be the best choice for
multicultural societies?
 The basic idea of the Westminster model: change of roles between
government and opposition requires voter’s change of preferences (Left
or Right)
 Structural minorities (UK=> Catholics, Celtic speakers) cannot change
preferences
 No chance of structural minorities to be in power
 Eternal majority, can lead to misuse of power
 Federalism refers to the advocacy of
a multi-tiered government, combining
elements of:
 Shared-rule (collaborative partnership)
through a common government
+
 Regional self-rule: Constituent unit is
autonomous
Federalism
SHARED
RULE
SELF
RULE
SELF
RULE
SELF
RULE
SELF
RULE
Stability
Efficacité
Federal Gov.
StateState State State State State State
Shared rule Self rule
Efficiency
Federalism
 1787 => The United States adopted a federal constitution, often
regarded as the first modern federation
 1848 => Switzerland transformed its confederation (which was
founded in 1291) into a federation
Federalism: Brief History
Federation vs. Confederation
Federation Confederation
A union of countries, states or provinces
- States or provinces that join a
federation, agree to give up part of
their powers and to answer to the
central government, which has the
power to enforce laws and regulations
- States come together creating a loose
(often temporary) union for matters of
political, economic or administrative
convenience
Can (almost) freely leave the union when
they decide to do so
- Members of a federation are bound
to respect the authority of the central
government and maintain limited
powers
- Within a confederation, member states
maintain a large degree of autonomy and
independence, often appoint a weak
central authority
 1867 => Canada became the third modern federation
 1871 => the North German Federation of 1867 was expanded to
include South German States
 1901 => Australia became a federation
 During the 19th century some Latin American republics adopted federal
structures (Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina) but these proved
unstable
Federalism: Brief History
21st century =>
 The world appeared to be in the midst of a paradigm shift: from
sovereign nation-states to diminished state sovereignty and increased
interstate linkages of a federal character
 How about now? Brexit, Trump’s ‘America first’?
 Currently there are 25 countries, encompassing over 40% of the world’s
population that exhibits the fundamental characteristics of a functioning
federation
Contemporary Federalism
Swiss Political System
 Direct Democracy
 The system of initiative and referendums is a modern form of popular
assembly (has all its features), suitable for large number of people and
decisions
 In Swiss cantons, the step from popular assembly to initiative and to
referendums was made consciously
Referendum is Latin for ‘referral’ or ‘referring’ of a certain matter to the
public for their vote
Direct Democracy
Four ballots
a year on
national
issues
pensions
pollution
taxes
17
The Referendum
 Constitutional amendments and some international treaties =>
mandatory referendum (decisions must be accepted by the majority of the
people and the cantons)
 1874-2006: 206 propositions, 153 accepted, 53 refused
 Amendments to legislation => optional referendum (the proposition of
parliament has to be accepted by the majority of the people) if a vote is
demanded by 50,000 people
 1874-2006: 2260 propositions of the parliament, popular votes on
referendum demands 184, 87 propositions of parliament accepted, 73
rejected
The Referendum
 Introduction of optional referendum against laws in 1874 technically
allowed the Catholics (opposition) to contest almost every law
 Consequences:
 The Liberal majority must find compromises with the minority
 Permanent accommodation with the opposition is necessary: 1894 a
Conservative Catholic is admitted to the Federal Council
 Further integration happens with the Farmers party and with the
Socialists in the first half of the 20th century
 Today: Referendum as pressure for compromise: necessary
accommodation of all groups strong enough to organise referendums
Parliament and Referendums
 200 referendums/year (all levels)
 531 federal referendums (1848-2004)
 187 obligatory
 152 rejective
 192 popular initiative
 Average turnout > 50% (elections: 40%!)
Parliament and Referendums
 Citizens are cautious:
 Popular initiatives: 10% adopted
 Rejective referendums: 50% of laws adopted
 Obligatory referendums: 73% of constitutional change/treaty adopted
 2-4 national voting days/year
 Postal voting
 Political radio/tv advertising banned
Parliament and Referendums
 Referendum may be about any issue the parliament is
competent on
 Binding vote
 Normal majority decides
 Citizens can launch their own proposals (popular initiative)
 Obligatory referendum => constitutional changes, treaties
 Rejective referendum => all laws, 50.000 signatures
 Popular initiative => all topics except some fundamental
human rights, 100.000 signatures
The Popular Initiative
 With their signatures, 100,000 people can hand in a
proposition to amend the constitution
 The Federal Council + parliament advice whether
to refuse/accept the proposition
 The proposition has to be accepted by the majority
of the people and the Cantons to become valid
 1874-2006: 214 popular initiatives 254 handed in, 161
voted upon, 15 accepted, 146 rejected
Power Sharing (Consensus Democracy)
 Proportional representation: language, culture, religious minorities are not
left out but integrated by ways of participation and representation in the
government
 The symbolic value of participation and representation => social &
political integration
 Permanent negotiation, changing coalitions
 Tensions between base and elites?
Multicultural Concept of the State
 1848 => The Constitution states that Switzerland consists “of the peoples
of the cantons”:
 ‘Swiss’ people are not defined by a common language, ethnicity, history or
religion, but only by formal citizenship
 A political, rather than a cultural nation => The State is neutral with
regard to religion, language, and other cultural characteristics
 Minorities are protected through human rights
Federalism
 Federalism gives the Cantons political autonomy
 Self governing of:
 Rural areas
 Different religious and language groups
 + influence deferral decision-making
 In order to amend the constitution => A majority of Cantons is needed
=> protects small rural (mostly Catholic) Cantons + inclusion
 However, federalism only protects minorities representing a political
majority in a sub-national unit
Multidimensional Proportional Representation
 Language, political party, region of origin & gender are relevant for:
 Federal Council
 Supreme Court
 Parliamentary Committees
 Federal Committees of Experts
 Nomination of senior positions in bureaucracy
 Similar practice of proportional representation in the cantons + in civil
society (Ex. national sports associations)
Proportional Rule for Elections
 19th century => Liberal majority secured
by electoral system based on majority rule
 1918 => General strike by the Socialist
Party provokes intervention of the army.
Some workers are shot
 1919 => Elections based on proportional
rule are introduced 1918: The Army takes control of Zurich
Effects of the Proportional Rule
Seats in the National Council 1908 - 1939
Catholics
Liberals
Socialists
Farmers
Positive Effects of Direct Democracy
 More debate, (assumed) more knowlegdable citizens
 More social capital, less tax evastion
 Better policy, higher economic growth
 More efficient government, lower budget deficits
 People have the last say in many important (not all) issues
 A way to restrain the political elites
 Led to slow (but steady) innovation
 Evidence that people are capable to participate in questions of “high”
politics
Challenging Direct Democracy
 Theory of motivation => an individual is motivated primarily by self
interest; society is a jungle dominated by the strong (social Darwinism)
 Distrust of other people
 People will use DD to crush minorities, to make irresponsible decisions which
are bad for the general interest
 The “jungle” view is not substantiated by evidence
 Blood donation, tax evasions, minority rights
Challenging Direct Democracy
“Citizens aren’t capable”
 How can ’stupid citizens’ make smart decision?
 Rising education; modern work life requires much skills
 Parliamentarians and citizens are both generalists – both use information
shortcuts (NGO endorsements, media)
 People are sovereign – ’I have the right to waste my own money’
Challenging Direct Democracy
“Citizens are selfish – abolish taxes but raise expenditures”
 DD lead to higher state expenditure before WW II and lower state
expenditure after WW II
 Tax raises are sometimes approved, sometimes blocked
Challenging Direct Democracy
“Special interests win because of money”
 Ban on political TV/radio ads
“Minority rights will be threatened”
 Polls: minorities support DD
 When examining attitudes towards minorities a similar internal division
between members of ethnic minority and majority is observed
 No evidence for destruction of minority rights through DD
Why does it work in Swizerland?
 Switzerland is virtually the only country in the world where the people
have such extensive decision-making powers
 Longstanding democratic tradition
 Comparatively small size of the population and country
 High literacy rate
Institutional Competition
 Swiss federalism allows each small group to remain sovereign, resulting in
extreme diversity
 This diversity has led to an exceptional level of institutional competition
between Cantons
 Result (inter alia): public administration is efficient, public expenditure is
contained, taxes are low (but far from zero)
 Institutional competition produces diversity, innovation and efficiency, not
uniformity, and certainly not a race to the bottom
36
Power Sharing and Cleavages
Power sharing
element
accommodates
cleavage of:
Multi-cultural
State
Federalism Referendum Proportional
electoral
system
Proportional
representation
Religion X X (X) (X) X
Language X X X (X) X
Rural/urban X X X
Class conflict X X X
Gender X X
Important to Remember
 Majoritarian democracy is the dominant model stemming from the AngloSaxon
world, but most probably only the second-best model for
multicultural or divided societies
 In cases of segmented or divided societies, Consensus democracy is a
better institutional fit but by no means a guarantee for conflict prevention
or peaceful conflict resolution
Important to Remember
 In the ideal vision of the democratic state, elected representatives make
collective decisions which reflect the general will, and it is the duty of
every citizen to contribute to public works according to the law of the
land
 In reality, collective decisions may be a result of lobbying & logrolling
(exchanging of political favors): If the government thus breaks the social
contract, it cannot expect the public to maintain their side of the bargain
Important to Remember
 The Swiss consider that their social contract (with public authorities) intact,
maintain the system (voted to not enter the EU)- legitimacy (EU suffers
from a legitimacy deficiency)
 And it is even questionable whether the Federal Government can
negotiate much in tax matters with the European Union: they could very
easily face a referendum if the EU were to drive too hard a bargain
Next Session...
 Comparative Analysis
40
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Thank You For Your Attention!
Questions???