Swiss Democracy Possible Solutions to Conflict in Multicultural Societies [Paperback]

An authoriative analysis of Swiss democracy, the institutions of federalism, and consensus democracy through political power sharing. Linder analyses the scope and limits of citizen's participation in direct democracy, which distinguishes Switzerland most from parliamentary systems. Central and Eastern Europe and all countries with minority problems could learn much of value from this study.List of Tables - List of Figures - Information Boxes - Foreword - Introduction - PART 1: BUILDING A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY BY POLITICAL INTEGRATION - Introduction - The Origins of Modern Switzerland - Turning Poor Odds to Good, or: Factors which Made Swiss Nation-Building a Success - Religious and Ethnic Minorities: From Coexistence to Pluralism - The Challenges of Socioeconomic Inequality - Proportional Representation: A Universal Key to Power Sharing - Limits of Swiss Pluralism: New Challenges for Integration - Conclusion - PART 2: FEDERALISM - Institutions - Federalist Elements in the Decision-Making Process - Federalism at Work - The Limits of Swiss Federalism -Challenges - PART 3: DIRECT DEMOCRACY AND POWER SHARING - Introduction: The Vote on 'Switzerland Without Army' - Institutions and the Historical Meaning of Direct Democracy - Participation in Direct Democracy - A Closer Look at the Referendum and the Initiative - Understanding the People's Vote - Power Sharing by Direct Democracy, or: How the Referendum has Changed the Political System - Conclusions - PART 4: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES - On Direct Democracy -On Federalism - On Power Sharing and Consociational Democracy - Epilogue: Switzerland's Future After the Popular Vote on the European Economic Area - Selected Bibliography - Index