Switzerland

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the changing political outlooks of Switzerland, both domestic and international. The author gives a brief history of Swiss neutrality, describing the Swiss position during and following World War II. The author then illustrates how this is changing, especially in light of Switzerland joining the United Nations and the EU. The three levels of government within Switzerland are also discussed. The author concludes by praising Switzerland for its tolerance and not being involved in open warfare for the past 300 years.

From the Paper:

"Overall, there are three levels of government in Switzerland--communal, cantonal and national. Of the 23 cantons, three of them, being Appenzell, Basel and Walden, are divided into halves to create the normal total of 26. The most recent canton is Jura which achieved its independence from Bern, the capital city, in 1979. This form of government is known as a bicameral system (i.e., based on two legislative chambers) with the Federal Assembly being responsible for national laws (Sigg, 214). In the U.S., there is only one legislative branch, made up of the Congress and the House of Representatives. The lower chamber is called the National Council with 200 members from the 26 cantons in proportion to population size, similar in nature to the U.S. House of Representatives. The upper chamber, known as the States Council, is composed of 46 members with two per canton, similar to the U.S. Congress with congressmen and women from all 50 states."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Benini, Aldo A. Modern Switzerland: A Volume in the Comparative Societies Series. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
• Codding, G.A. The Federal Government of Switzerland. UK: Allen & Unwin, 1975.
• "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices." Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2006.
• Luck, J. Murray. Modern Switzerland. Berlin: Sposs Publishing, 1978.
• Sigg, Oswald. Switzerland's Political Institutions. Zurich: Swiss Council for the Arts, 1983.

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