Swiss democracy: Possible solutions to conflict in multicultural societies

'Wolf Linder's Swiss Democracy blends theoretical analysis with descriptive facility so as to present a vivid portrait of what is distinctive about the Swiss political system. It poses original questions which students are encouraged to ponder in comparative perspective to the American and other systems. 'Arnold J. Heidenheimer, Professor of Political Science, Washington University, St Louis 'Given the furore about a referendum on Maastricht, Wolf Linder's book is a very timely one. He shows that referenda can have political affects way beyond those imagined by Bill Cash and Margaret Thatcher. So while Switzerland is not a model it encapsulates an alternative view of democracy about which we would do well to think.'- Clive C. Church, Professor of European Studies, University of Kent at Canterbury 'The real value of the book lies in its critical dissection of the features of Swiss democracy that are frequently praised in theory but rarely assessed in practice. Linder shows that behind its apparent populist democracy lurks the power of interest groups. So he makes a contribution to thought about democracy which could have significant lessons for countries seeking to be democratic.' - G.W.Jones, Professor of Government, London School of Economics 'It would be hard to overestimate the value of this book. Everyone knows that Swiss model of initiatives and referenda is important, but until now the English language reader has had no access to the real workings of the Swiss system. This marvellous book makes that available for the first time.' - Professor Floyd Feeney, School of Law, University of California In this book Wolf Linder explains the way government and politics work in Switzerland. Combining the essence of many empirical studies with own observations, and giving illustrative examples, the author thoroughly analyses the institutions of federalism, and consensus democracy through political power sharing. With the critical eye of a political scientist, Linder then analyses scope and limits of citizen's participation in direct democracy, which distinguishes Switzerland most from parliamentary systems. The value of the book goes beyond describing Switzerland and its political integration between different languages, religions and cultures. Analyzing the nature of Swiss politics, Linder shows how federalism and political power sharing could help to resolve political conflict in other multicultural societies and to integrate different communities. Central and Eastern Europe as well as countries with minority problems could learn much of value from this study.