
Contents
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1 Introduction 1 Introduction
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2 Empowering citizens (1798–1891) 2 Empowering citizens (1798–1891)
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2.1 The Helvetic Republic or the empowerment of the nation (1798–1802) 2.1 The Helvetic Republic or the empowerment of the nation (1798–1802)
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2.2 Restoration and regeneration or the empowerment of the cantons (1803–1847) 2.2 Restoration and regeneration or the empowerment of the cantons (1803–1847)
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2.3 The federal state or the empowerment of citizens (1847–1891) 2.3 The federal state or the empowerment of citizens (1847–1891)
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3 Integration (1891–1991) 3 Integration (1891–1991)
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3.1 The majority system or the integration of Catholics (1891–1918) 3.1 The majority system or the integration of Catholics (1891–1918)
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3.2 The proportional system or the integration of the socialist left (1918–1959) 3.2 The proportional system or the integration of the socialist left (1918–1959)
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3.3 Universal integration? (1959–1992) 3.3 Universal integration? (1959–1992)
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4 Conclusion 4 Conclusion
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References References
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3 The Historical and Institutional Formation of Swiss Political Culture
Get accessIrène Herrmann is a full professor of Swiss transnational history at the University of Geneva, having graduated there in both Russian and history. She was visiting professor at the University Laval (Canada), lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva), fellow from the SNF at the Russian State University for Humanities (Moscow), and SNF professor at the University of Fribourg. She has published more than 150 scientific articles, ten edited books, and five monographs. Her work focuses mainly on solidarity, humanitarianism, conceptual history, conflict management, and the political uses of the past in Switzerland and in post-Soviet Russia.
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Published:18 December 2023
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Abstract
Swiss citizens are widely known to enjoy particularly extensive democratic rights. Not only can they vote and be elected to government, but they can also reject laws and even propose changes to their constitution. To the surprise of many, these exceptional rights have not led to complete disarray and have been exercised in a very moderate, if not outright conservative, way. To address both these considerations, this chapter focuses first on the nineteenth century, when these rights were most fully exercised just as responsibility increased, mostly based on the idea that the Swiss had to be worthy of their glorious ancestors. It then tackles the twentieth century, when the same empowerment restricted the expansion of the groups of people who had access to it. This in turn posed problems in terms of the integration of swathes of the population who were supposedly naturally less reasonable or who were unable to become so since they did not share the same illustrious history. Ultimately, both these rights and the sense of individual moderation they presupposed were characteristic of a very weak state that had to delegate to its citizens the portion of responsibility that it could not assume for them. This mechanism, inspired by poverty, was internalized just as Switzerland was becoming prosperous. However, the Swiss understood this new wealth to be the outcome of their reasonableness. Consequently, they tended to accentuate their self-restraint as well as their reluctance to share their political rights.
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