Comparative analysis and contrasting perspectives

Switzerland

Following the end of World War II in 1945, while Europe was rebuilding its infrastructure from the ravages of the war, the country of Switzerland rapidly began to expand its commercial, financial and industrial base, due in part to the fact that Switzerland was a neutral country during the war and did not experience the devastation found within the rest of Europe. In 1945, Switzerland declined the offer to join the United Nations and also stayed out of the newly-formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); however, Switzerland quickly began to participate in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. For more than fifty years, Switzerland maintained its distance from the rest of Europe, but in 1992, it applied for membership in the European Union (which failed to materialize) and in 2002, became the 190th member of the United Nations. Soon after, the Swiss government signed a bilateral agreement with the EU which was designed to "slowly open up the free movement of people and allow transport access" for all Swiss citizens (Benini, 156). Unfortunately, Belgium threatened to impose sanctions against Switzerland for harboring citizens of the EU who were avoiding the payment of taxes. Thus, as in the years before and after World War II, Switzerland remained neutral and depended upon its own special form of government which is still in effect today in 2007.

According to G.A. Codding, the "catch-phrase of modern Swiss politics is 'Direct Democracy' which on a national level means that most federal laws must be approved by referendum and a petition with at least 100,000 signatures on any issue can legally bring about a public vote" (189). This system seems far more democratic as compared to the United States where almost all federal laws are created by the U.S. Congress via senators and representatives voted into office by the common people. For example, in the small half-canton of Appenzell Innerhoden, "direct democracy still means raising one's hand at an immense public meeting to vote for members of the local government" (Codding, 190).

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.

The Federal Assembly elects seven equal members to make up the Federal Council which holds executive power. Since 1959, this council has been composed of two members each from the Radical Democrats, the Social Democrats, the Christian Democrats and the Swiss People's Party. In 1999, when the People's Party won 44 Federal Assembly seats, "both it and Christopher Blocher have been pushing for an extra Federal Council seat" (Sigg, 216). This Federal Council system is directly opposed to the executive branch of the U.S. government which consists of the President and his cabinet. Certainly, the Federal Council wields the most power in the Swiss government, due to having the authority to override most of the decisions made by the Federal Assembly. The weakest would at first glance appear to be the various cantons found scattered throughout the country; however, since the members of these cantons practice "direct democracy," the decisions they make affect the rest of the system, for without them, there would be no laws.

Like almost all countries in Europe based on democratic ideals and principles, the citizens of Switzerland can petition the federal government on any issue that may affect the health and well-being of the nation. Of course, the citizens of Switzerland can also vote and participate in the creation of laws by being members of their local cantons. Generally, voting is a privilege and not a right in Switzerland and those who do vote "wield a fearsome influence on the political front" (Luck, 213). Swiss voters can also petition the federal government on national policy, especially when amendments to the Swiss Constitution may affect them negatively.

This process is often called the People's Initiative and as an example of the power of this entity, in 1989, the People's Initiative "prompted Switzerland to abolish its Swiss army. Slightly more than 1,000,000 voters were for it, but almost 2,000,000 were against it." Thus, the Swiss army remains today and demonstrates that in this system, "the voice of the people is the voice of God" (Luck, 216). Overall, the Swiss government and the Swiss Constitution "provides for freedom of assembly and association," especially in relation to voting and the discussion of issues that affect every Swiss citizen ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," 34).

In the case of religion in Switzerland, this area of Swiss society is low on the totem pole of importance. In other words, most Swiss citizens could be viewed as being anti-religious if no downright atheistic. Since the time of the religious zealots in the early 16th century, the topic of religion in Switzerland has become "merely a tolerated tradition or culture once fostered with great enthusiasm by the forefathers of modern-day Switzerland" (Benini, 256). Although the religious history of Switzerland dates back to the 16th century and the days of Martin Luther, in the nation today, religion has taken on many diverse forms. For example, there are Greek Orthodox and New Evangelical churches, Mormon churches, Seventh-Day Adventists, Anglican chapels, Roman Catholic churches, Jewish synagogues and even Buddhist temples. According to Aldo a. Benini, the current major denominations include Protestants at 50.4% of the population, Roman Catholic at 43.6% and other denominations at 6 & (256). As pointed out by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, "there is no official state church, (yet) most cantons financially support at least one of the three traditional denominations," due to the Swiss government "generally respecting this right in practice" ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," 56).

In regards to freedom of the press and speech, Switzerland is one of the most tolerant of all European nations. In today's Switzerland, there are over 400 daily and weekly newspapers with a total circulation of more than 3.5 million. Some of these periodicals include the local tabloid Blick, the British Guardian, the Independent, the International Herald Tribune, the European and the Financial Times. As an example of the Swiss government's toleration (if not endorsement) for open and unregulated freedom of the press, in almost every major Swiss city, one can find in plain sight "a copious collection of printed glossies with full-frontal nudity on their covers." Much like the United States, the freedom of the press and of speech is protected via the Swiss Constitution, yet is appears that the Swiss government is much more liberal when it comes to allowing Swiss citizens and even foreigners to print and distribute whatever they please as long as it does not promote the overthrow of the government nor endanger the freedoms of the common man and woman.