The Radical Right in Switzerland Continuity and Change, 1945-2000 [Hardcover]

There has been a tendency amongst scholars to view Switzerland as a unique case, and comparative scholarship on the radical right has therefore shown little interest in the country. Yet, as the author convincingly argues, there is little justification for maintaining the notion of Swiss exceptionalism, and excluding the Swiss radical right from cross-national research. His book presents the first comprehensive study of the development of the radical right in Switzerland since the end of the Second World War and therefore fills a significant gap in our knowledge. It examines the role that parties and political entrepreneurs of the populist right, intellectuals and publications of the New Right, as well as propagandists and militant groups of the extreme right assume in Swiss politics and society. The author shows that post-war Switzerland has had an electorally and discursively important radical right since the 1960s that has exhibited continuity and persistence in its organizations and activities. Recently, this has resulted in the consolidation of a diverse Swiss radical right that is now established at various levels within the political and public arena.

Skenderovic has nevertheless produced a tremendously informative study, convincingly showing that Switzerland deserves a place in comparative studies of European right-wing politics. scholars will find his detailed descriptions of the diverse players on the Swiss radical right very helpful, and the book offers an excellent foundation for further research. German Studies Review

&an exemplary analysis of the development of the radical Right within a national framework& The study impresses also beyond its valuable substantive results with its structure, its familiarity with? contemporary developments and personalities but also its empirical basis. One wishes that comparable analyses were available for more European societies. Swiss Political Science Revl“)