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Difference between revisions of "Switzerland"
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==Government and Society of Switzerland== | ==Government and Society of Switzerland== | ||
*Constitutional framework | |||
Switzerland’s constitution (modeled after that of the United States) was adopted in 1848 and substantially revised in 1874. A thoroughly revised constitution, approved by three-fifths of voters, entered into force in 2000, though the changes were mainly formal, with little alteration to the structure of Switzerland’s government. Because the old constitution had become immethodical and difficult to understand, the new constitution coherently incorporated the multitude of amendments passed in the previous 125 years. Switzerland’s constitution contains some 200 articles, which establish the rights and duties of the citizens and of the governing bodies. It also created what has been termed a consociational democracy, which attempts to maintain political balance and stability, given the country’s linguistic and religious diversity. | |||
The federal government supervises external and internal security, transportation affairs, forestry, and water conservation. It also is responsible for foreign policy and customs, the monetary system, the military, and social insurance programs. It has the authority to take steps to adjust the course of the economy and provide for uniform administration of justice in the areas of criminal and civil law. | |||
Legislative power resides in the bicameral Federal Assembly, comprising the National Council, with 200 deputies elected by a system of proportional representation for four-year terms, and the Council of States, in which each canton is represented by two deputies and each demicanton by one deputy (46 deputies in total). The executive branch is headed by the Federal Council, a seven-member collegial board. The presidency of the Federal Council rotates among the members annually, and each councillor presides over a federal department. The governments of other countries often have 20 or more ministers, and because of the Federal Council’s increasing workload (domestic responsibilities coupled with Switzerland’s burgeoning international commitments), there has been considerable debate about enlarging the Council or adding another level of ministers between the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly. However, Swiss voters, who would have to approve this restructuring, are fairly cautious about making such constitutional changes, especially those that might upset the very subtle balance between the different language groups. | |||
One of the unique aspects of Switzerland’s constitution is the number of decisions it requires citizens to make through referenda and initiatives. Sovereign power ultimately rests with the people, who vote on proposed legislation several times a year at the national level and often more frequently in the cantons; indeed, Switzerland has held more than half of the world’s national referenda. For example, in 1971 the constitution was amended by national referendum to grant women the right to vote in federal elections and to hold federal office, in 1991 the voting age in federal elections was reduced from 20 to 18 years, and in 2002 voters endorsed entry into the United Nations (UN). Referenda must be held on constitutional matters and major international treaties; voters may also call a referendum to challenge a law passed by the Federal Assembly by obtaining 50,000 signatures within 100 days of passage. For a referendum to pass, it must receive an overall majority both of the national vote and in a majority of the cantons. In addition to referenda, Swiss citizens can call a national vote on any issue by collecting 100,000 signatures. The first such initiative was undertaken in 1893, when voters decided against the wishes of the parliament and endorsed the prohibition of the killing of animals according to Jewish religious methods. More recently, voters have cast ballots on whether to join the European Economic Area (rejected), eliminate the Swiss army (rejected), reduce military spending (rejected), limit the foreign population of the country (rejected), conserve moorland (approved), and require that trucks passing through the country be put on railroad flatbeds (approved). The Swiss model has provided citizens with a direct voice in their own affairs that is without parallel in any other country, but it has sometimes been criticized on various grounds: voter turnout is often very low, averaging about two-fifths of the electorate; it often makes the passage of important legislation difficult (e.g., the parliament passed a law granting women the right to vote in 1959, but voters did not approve the change at the federal level until 12 years later); and it raises the prospect that the rights of minority groups can be undermined by a majority of the population, though Swiss voters in practice have generally respected the rights of minorities. | |||
*Cantonal and local government | |||
The Swiss Confederation is divided into 26 cantons (including six demicantons, or Halbkantone, which function as full cantons), each of which has its own constitution and assembly. The cantons exercise broad authority, possessing all powers not specifically given to the federal government. Education and health policies are largely determined at the cantonal level. While historically several cantons had a Landsgemeinde, only Appenzell Inner-Rhoden and Glarus maintain this traditional assembly consisting of all the canton’s citizens that meets annually and serves as the canton’s primary decision-making body. | |||
The Swiss Confederation consists of some 3,000 communes, which are responsible for public utilities and roads and, like the cantons, are largely autonomous. Communes range in size from Bagnes in Valais, with an area of 109 square miles (282 square km), to Ponte Tresa in Ticino, with an area of 0.1 square mile (0.3 square km). They also vary considerably in population; many have only several hundred residents, while the commune of Zürich has more than 350,000 residents. From the multiplicity of small communal republics stem a special quality to each and, paradoxically, a basis of national unity, for each citizen treasures and supports the freedom of the commune, a shared conviction that unites a citizen with the rest of the population in a way that transcends differences of language and of party. It is the communes rather than the country that grant Swiss citizenship. | |||
*Justice | |||
The Swiss Civil Code of 1912 has furnished a model for the administration of justice in many countries; indeed, parts of the code have been adopted verbatim in other legal systems. The difficult task of creating and preserving a uniform judicial system within so diverse a national structure has produced a number of great jurists and experts of international law. Each canton elects and maintains its own magistracy for ordinary civil and criminal trials. Supreme judicial power is vested in the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgericht), the seat of which is in Lausanne. Members of the court are elected by the Federal Assembly to six-year terms. Capital punishment was abolished—except under circumstances of martial law, general mobilization, or war—by the unified federal penal code of 1937. | |||
*Political process | |||
All citizens at least age 18 are permitted to vote; however, Switzerland has among the lowest levels of voter participation among long-established democracies. From the 1950s into the early 21st century, Switzerland’s government was formed by a grand coalition of four parties—the Radical Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Christian Democratic People’s Party, and the Swiss People’s Party (Centre Democratic Union). These parties have combined to retain comfortable majorities in the National Council (often winning more than four-fifths of the seats) and generally have contributed all the members of the Council of States. Members of the Federal Council, with its rotating presidency, are selected with the intent of providing equitable political, religious, and linguistic representation. Despite its long tenure, the coalition was beset by increasing internal conflicts at the end of the 20th century. The Swiss People’s Party, which had held one seat on the Federal Council since the 1950s, adopted positions that were considered by some to be antiforeigner and anti-European; it became the largest party in the Federal Assembly in 2003 and was awarded an additional seat on the Federal Council. In 2007 the Swiss People’s Party withdrew from the grand coalition. This end to nearly a half century of consensus government was only temporary, however: a year later, a member of the far-right party regained a seat on the Federal Council. | |||
Although denied voting rights at the federal level until the 1970s, women are now fully engaged in politics and regularly constitute about one-fifth of the representatives in the Federal Assembly. Ruth Dreifuss was the first woman to serve as president, holding the office in 1999. | |||
*Security | |||
Policing is generally the responsibility of the cantons, though larger cities also maintain municipal police forces. A small federal police corps enforces special federal laws concerning such crimes as treason and forgery (mainly in collaboration with cantonal police). There has been considerable debate about increasing the scope and size of the federal police to combat crimes that transcend cantonal boundaries, but such a change would require the agreement of the cantonal governments. | |||
In accordance with Switzerland’s neutrality, which dates from the 16th century and in 1815 became international law, the army serves solely to preserve the country’s independence. Defense is based on a system of universal conscription under which every Swiss male begins performing military duty at age 20 as a member of the national militia and remains active until age 42; officers remain active until age 52. The training of recruits is followed by 10 three-week refresher courses. Swiss women may serve as volunteers in the women’s military force. Unlike soldiers in other countries, Swiss soldiers keep their equipment, including arms and ammunition, at home and perform obligatory gunnery duty each year in civilian clothes, a manifestation of the extraordinary degree of trust between citizen and government. | |||
Although deeply rooted in Swiss history, both the militia system and neutrality were increasingly questioned at the end of the 20th century. For example, in 1989 more than one-third of the electorate (including majorities in Jura and Geneva) voted in favour of abolishing the army, and neutrality—once a fully convincing concept for a small country surrounded by conflicting powers—has lost much of its justification in the geopolitical situation of the beginning of the 21st century. Thus, Swiss voters, who had overwhelmingly rejected entry into the UN in the mid-1980s as a violation of the tradition of neutrality, endorsed entry in 2002. | |||
*Health and welfare | |||
Public welfare services in Switzerland have evolved in a way typical of federalism, developing first in the communes, then in the cantons, and later in the confederation. Social welfare support is primarily a communal task, sometimes in cooperation with the cantons. Social insurance, which had existed in some communes, was introduced at the federal level by a series of constitutional amendments, the most important of which was compulsory social-security insurance (introduced in 1948). Financed through the contributions of workers and their employers, as well as smaller contributions from the cantons and the confederation, social-security insurance provides annuities and pension allowances to senior citizens (men over 65 and women over 62) and to widows, orphans, and invalids. Because this legislation did not cover the cost of living, a system of mandatory occupational pensions was later introduced, financed by both employers and employees. In 1985 a voluntary employee-funded private pension plan was established, encouraged by tax incentives. | |||
Unemployment insurance is federal, financed by contributions from employees and employers. Health insurance is compulsory; though a legal framework has been established on the federal level, the health system is largely organized along cantonal lines, and health contributions vary considerably between cantons. The Swiss Confederation and the cantons together finance additional support for the destitute out of general revenues. Overall, the level of social welfare spending is substantial, accounting for more than one-fourth of total expenditures, and care and services are among the best in the world. | |||
Drug use is considered an important health problem, with many youths regularly using marijuana and other drugs. To resolve drug-related issues, Switzerland adopted a unique approach, controlling drug delivery to the severely addicted without legalizing drugs. The strategy has resulted in better care for addicts, a reduction in the drug-abuse rate, and an increase in public safety. | |||
*Housing | |||
Because of its distinct cultural differences, Switzerland provides varied examples of geographic settlement patterns, with traditional housing types differing from one region to another. For example, smooth stone houses are typical in the Engadin, small stone buildings in Ticino, the combination house and barn in the Mittelland, the distinctive shingled facades in Appenzell, and the wooden villages of the valleys of Valais canton. | |||
The housing stock in Switzerland is relatively modern, with more than two-thirds built since 1947. Despite the country’s high population density, dwellings are fairly large; about one-fourth of homes have more than five rooms. With about one-third of all dwellings owner occupied, Switzerland has among the lowest home ownership rates in Europe. This low figure is partially the result of the country’s high population density and scarce land, which has inflated the value of land, combined with an unequal income distribution—factors that have made it impossible for a majority of the population to acquire a dwelling. | |||
*Education | |||
Switzerland’s 1874 constitution gave sovereignty over education to each canton or demicanton. Elementary education is free and compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16. The confederation provides financial assistance for vocational training and the cantonal universities, regulates examinations for the professions, and influences the curriculum of the secondary schools. The only institutions of higher education maintained by the confederation itself are the Federal Institutes of Technology at Zürich (founded 1855) and Lausanne (founded 1853 and federalized 1969). Among the country’s most prominent institutions are the Universities of Basel (founded 1460), Bern (established as a seminary in 1528 and as a university in 1834), Geneva (founded 1559), Lausanne (founded 1537), and Zürich (founded 1833). The interior department in Bern administers education, and there is an education department in every canton. | |||
The combination of an Alpine landscape, the pedagogic reputation of educational theorists such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and Jean Piaget, and the multicultural nature of the country has prompted many private schools, at all levels, to locate in Switzerland. | |||
==Culture Life of Switzerland== | ==Culture Life of Switzerland== | ||
==History of Switzerland== | ==History of Switzerland== | ||