What could Switzerland and the United States learn from each other today?
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As a reporter I cover developments in democracy where the Swiss perspective becomes relevant.
I am Swiss and have long been fascinated by the way public discussions shape society.
The US and Switzerland once influenced each other as sister republics.
In view of the impact of social media on public debate and growing polarisation, all democratic countries must ask themselves what ideas they can use to win the trust of their citizens.
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Democracy
Sister republics: what the US and Switzerland have in common
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Switzerland and the United States were once known as “sister republics”. A former ambassador to Switzerland recently evoked the idea again. How have the two states shaped and influenced each other?
The US and Switzerland are different when it comes to polarisation. However, approaches can often be found through comparison. So what could the two democracies learn from each other?
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Foreign Affairs
Five events that shaped contemporary Swiss-American relations
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The United States and Switzerland have experienced remarkable highs and lows in their post-war relationship. Their disputes have tested Swiss principles like neutrality.
"What could Switzerland and the United States learn from each other today?”____That the Ukraine is the future of Europe; huge fertile country, highly educated workforce (many citizens have a master degree) and they are very intelligent.
kzm
Thank you for this thread! I’m an American living in Switzerland for 17 years now, and I’d love to continue this comparison of democracy in Switzerland and the US now that the election is over, focusing on key differences. It is shocking to me what is happening in the US under Trump and Musk, and I’m curious as to how Switzerland feels like it may or may not have democratic processes in place to avoid the constitutional crisis America is experiencing. Thank you, Switzerland, for being such a sane place. We must not take that for granted!
GabrielMarques
I`m Brazilian, but currently live in the US. Switzerland seems to have a more thoroughly educated citizenry. The people seem more prone to enjoy life and less fond of money.
This tells me that they are more intelligent and wiser than Americans.
I judge by the cleanliness of your water, and the price of your Universities.
Americans are badly educated and then waste away their lives paying for college loans.
This creates a cycle where those who spend more need to exploit those below them.
In every job I`ve had, there`s a obese white man under-paying a large minority.
In regards to wars, it`s not just the government. Americans are infatuated with guns and violence. It`s part of the American patriotism. I`ve spoken to war veterans and it seems they think themselves modern day Napoleans, liberators of the world..
This starts at grade school and is pushed throughout American culture.
But, most of all I think what corrupts America is the idolatry that causes them to covet money. It started with Rockfellar and ends with the Billy Graham.
They see no value in a simple and gentle life if they see a field they`re pondering on how much it would be worth if they build a city over it.
If they gain a million they`ll envy someone with a billion..
I know for a fact as I spent my early youth in US. it`s the American motto.
the_MEK2307
" sister republics."?
Really?
The US can learn lots from Switzerland. Switzerland very little from the US.
US from Switzerland. Democracy, free press, quality, fairness, representive government
It's a long bloody list
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@the_MEK2307
As you will learn if you read the linked article, for example, it is primarily a historical concept - but one that has had a manifest impact on the development of both countries.
Wie Sie erfahren, wenn Sie beispielsweise den verlinkten Artikel lesen, handelt es sich primär um einen historisches Begriff - der sich aber manifest auf die Entwicklung der beiden Länder ausgewirkt hat.
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
Good morning, I read the comments of Swiss politicians and I did not find deep analyses of the American political situation, some even misleading, one cannot reduce the position of Trump's staff to the few things read in the analyses of your article and disseminated by the interested media owned by those who oppose them.
To think of Switzerland approaching an undemocratic cage like the EU is a delusion. The EU is an organisation in the hands of a commission not elected by anyone completely controlled by the financial usurers.
But do you know what Eurogendfor is?
I'll tell you, it is the reproduction of a completely, utterly, surreptitiously Nazi form of sociality.
The level of Italian politicians is non-existent and corrupt, but even in Switzerland I don't see anyone capable of an all-round analysis.
Buongiorno, ho letto i commenti dei politici svizzeri e non ho trovato analisi profonde sulla situazione politica americana, alcune addirittura fuorvianti, non si può ridurre la posizione dello staff di Trump alle poche cose lette nelle analisi del vostro articolo e diffuse dai media interessati di proprietà di chi li avversa.
Pensare di avvicinarsi da parte della Svizzera a una gabbia antidemocratica come la EU lo trovo un delirio. La EU è una organizzazione in mano a una commissione non eletta da nessuno completamente controllata dagli usurai finanziari.
Ma avete presente cosa sia Eurogendfor?
Ve lo dico io, è la riproduzione di una forma di socialità completamente, assolutamente, surrettiziamente, nazista.
Il livello dei politici italiani è inesistente e corrotto, ma anche in Svizzera non vedo soggetti capaci di analisi a 360°.
HiFromJapan
The following contribution has been automatically translated from JA.
I live in Japan, so I want to talk about the Japanese political background as well.
At the moment, the political situation in major industrialised countries, including Japan, is deteriorating rapidly. This was a problem even before the Corona pandemic, but it became more serious with Corona.
What has come to light in Corona is the lack of preparedness of countries for emergencies and the true 'face' that governments show when chaos breaks out, as well as our insecurities, desires and violent nature. It was clear that when people are in shortages of any kind, there is a surge in killing people and taking something from them.
Especially in the US and other countries - at least not in Japan, where we have guns. When chaos breaks out, you know exactly what happens on the streets.
So why is there no gun control? Pressure groups are probably the biggest direct cause. Profit-driven organisations have stood in the way of people doing what they need to do, as much as they need to do it, to prevent further harm and to improve society. It is the same in Japan.
It is said that the current decline in the Japanese economy is a failure caused by politics. Yes, it is, and it is because of pressure groups. Even the birth of a very good politician, Shinzo Abe, he was hampered by pressure groups, or other organisations, to reverse policies that were supposed to help people. You all know Abenomics. No matter how good a politician is, he couldn't beat an organisation made up of a bunch of people who could be described as scum.
I don't know much about the situation in the US, but the same thing is happening, has happened or will happen. I don't know about European countries.
States that have developed through free competition, especially larger ones, are more adversely affected by pressure groups. (The Soviet Union, for example, is an earlier problem.)
Switzerland is probably relatively light on this issue.
No matter how similar the political systems of Switzerland and the US are, and no matter how much they are said to be sister republics, if the economies are different in size, the problems would be quite different.
(I don't know what criteria are used to describe sister republics, so please point out if I'm wrong.)
At any rate, one of the things that needs to be done in the future is to control third-party entry into politics in Switzerland, and to dismantle excessive pressure groups in the USA and Japan.
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@HiFromJapan
I enjoyed reading to the end - thank you very much for your views and insights on the situation in Japan.
The term "sister republics" is a historical term that was coined in France in the years following the French Revolution. It therefore describes the common ideological foundations rather than something else.
Gerne habe ich bis zu Ende gelesen - vielen Dank für Ihre An- und Einsichten zu der Situation in Japan.
Der Begriff "Schwesterrepubliken" ist ein historischer Begriff, der in Frankreich in den Jahren nach der französischen Revolution geprägt worden ist. Er beschreibt also eher die gemeinsamen ideellen Grundlagen als etwas Anderes.
Rafiq Tschannen
The USA could learn from Switzerland to send a qualified Ambassador with diplomatic experience to the other country, rather than just give an Ambassador's post as a reward for a handsome Campaign contribution.
expat1291
Both Europe and the United States need to learn to reinforce the freedoms that democratic and or republican forms of government bring. The US has been on a slide to an overreaching and controlling central government for a long time. This has brought loss of freedom, respect for the individual, a rise of violence, a degraded quality of life in every way. A return to the rule of law is badly needed in both the US and European countries as well as a return to respect for our cultures.
KPT30361281
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
Europe must realise immediately that democratic forces must be strengthened in a world that has become uncertain. We must no longer allow "games" in the sense that we try out how far right-wing extremist opinions and statements can be tolerated. The big power blocs are ready to crush the fickle states. The example of Ukraine shows us what could be in store for us. Let's stand up for justice, freedom and democracy!
Europa muss sofort realisieren, dass in der unsicher gewordenen Welt die demokratischen Kräfte gestärkt werden müssen. Wir dürfen keine "Spielchen" mehr zulassen in dem Sinne, dass wir ausprobieren wie weit rechtextremistische Meinungen und Aussagen geduldet werden können. Die grossen Machtblöcke sind bereit die wankelmütigen Staaten zu zerreiben. Am Beispiel Ukraine sehen wir, was uns blühen könnte. Stehen wir ein für Recht, Freiheit und Demokratie!
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@KPT30361281
Thank you for your contribution. Where do you see Switzerland's specific role?
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag. Wo sehen Sie da die spezifische Rolle der Schweiz?
Anonymous
The US might want to 'learn' to be less violent! The 'will of the people'...which is what the word 'democracy' stands for has come to mean 'the will of the rich'. Democracy it ain't no more. Having lived in the US and now living in Switzerland, I really can't see how 'sister republics' apply in today's world.
OCRAM
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
@Anonymous
"Will of the rich" is wrong and reductive! Trump was elected precisely by the lower classes, those that our radical intelligentsia extols, but not at all when they vote right! Our left must learn that today the world has changed like never before (!) also thanks to social and information technology in general, and that the old political patterns no longer apply. Last but not least: the traditional beacons of the left (USSR, China) are now completely extinguished: today both Russia and China prosper precisely because they adhere to the globalised capitalist system! And their social inequalities today are even worse than in the West. Those who continue to reason with the old political schemes risk becoming blind and deaf.
"Volontà dei ricchi" è sbagliato e riduttivo! Trump è stato eletto proprio dai ceti più bassi, quelli che la nostra intellighenzia radical elvetica esalta, ma non assolutamente quando vota a destra! La nostra sinistra deve imparare che oggi il mondo è cambiato come non mai prima (!) anche grazie ai social e all'informatica in genere, e che i vecchi schemi politici non valgono più da parecchio tempo. Non da ultimo: i tradizionali fari della sinistra (URSS, Cina) si sono ormai spenti del tutto: oggi sia Russia che Cina, prosperano proprio perché aderiscono al sistema capitalista globalizzato! E le loro diseguaglianze sociali oggi sono anche peggiori che ad Ovest. Chi continua a ragionare con i vecchi schemi politici, rischia di diventare cieco e sordo.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
It remains to be seen how this will develop. But the really impressive thing about the "sister republics" is how differently two countries can develop when they have similar ideas and similar structures.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag - tatsächlich sind die Schwesterrepubliken nur selten Thema in der Tagespolitik geworden. Zuletzt etwa beim Besuch von Ignazio Cassis in New York: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/democracy/democracy-delivers-what-can-switzerland-bring-to-the-us-initiative/87660848
Wie sich das nun entwickeln wird, muss man schauen. Aber das eigentlich beeindruckende an den "Schwesterrepubliken" ist ja, wie verschieden sich zwei Länder entwickeln können, an deren Ursprung ähnliche Ideen und ähnliche Strukturen stehen.
rossat.jf
The following contribution has been automatically translated from FR.
Nothing
Switzerland and the USA do not face the same problems, nor do they have the same aspirations or the same mentality.
The USA wants to rule the world, while Switzerland simply wants to contribute to its well-being.
The USA claims to be democratic, but it is blind. Its presidential election system does not respect the opinions of its citizens. Mrs Clinton had the majority of voters, but not these strange grand electors.
The USA has a presidential system, Switzerland a parliamentary one, and we could go on for pages and pages.
In short, NOTHING
Rien
La Suisse et les USA ne sont pas confrontés par les mêmes problèmes, ils n'ont ni les mêmes aspirations, ni la même mentalité.
Les USA veulent diriger le monde, la Suisse simplement participer à son bien-être.
Les USA se veulent démocratiques, ils sont aveugles. Leur système d'élection présidentielle ne respecte pas les avis des citoyens. Mme Clinton avait la majorité des électeurs mais pas ces drôles de grands électeurs.
Les USA ont un système présidentiel, la suisse parlementaire. et l'on pourrait encore noircir des bouquins entiers de pages
Bref RIEN
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@rossat.jf
Thank you for your contribution. We respect your opinion, of course - even if the differences in the system that you mention tend to indicate that you believe the US political system could benefit from Switzerland.
Vielen Dank für Ihren Beitrag. Wir respektieren natürlich Ihre Meinung - selbst, wenn die Unterschiede im System, die Sie benennen, ja eher darauf hinweisen, dass Sie glauben, das politische System der USA könne von der Schweiz profitieren.
Im Hinblick auf die demokratischen Institutionen muss ich Ihnen aber widersprechen: Die Strukturen der Länder haben sich gegenseitig beeinflusst. So ist etwa das Schweizer System aus National- und Ständerat dem US-amerikanischen nachempfunden: https://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/democratie/les-r%c3%a9publiques-s%c5%93urs-ce-qui-lie-les-%c3%a9tats-unis-et-la-suisse/73364753
Ambrogio
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
How much albeit understandable anti-American animosity in the comments I read.
Of course the US hasn't won a war since the Korean War, but it still liberated the world from Nazi-fascism.
By now the initial question (what can he learn...) is hardly apt.
One should distinguish in specific areas. Perhaps the most interesting thing would be a comparison of education systems, at all levels. Basic education in the USA leaves a lot to be desired, and conversely the large universities seem to be a model, but perhaps they are not, at least from a socio-political point of view....
quanta sia pur comprensibile animosità antiamericana nei commenti che leggo.
Certo che gli USA non hanno più azzeccato una guerra dai tempi della guerra di Korea, ma hanno pur sempre liberato il mondo dal nazifascismo.
Ormai è poco azzeccata la domanda iniziale (che cosa può imparare...).
Si dovrebbe distinguere in settori specifici. Forse la cosa più interessante sarebbe un confronto tra i sistemi educativi, a tutti i livelli. L'istruzione di base negli USA lascia molto a desiderare e viceversa le grandi UNIversità sembrano un modello, ma forse non lo sono almeno dal punto di vista socio-politico....
j.zoller@tiscali.it
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
In my opinion, they have nothing in common from birth, Switzerland was born out of a common idea of mutual solidarity and freedom, the USA formerly a prison colony, exterminated an indigenous people, and followed the law of the Talion, the strongest suppress the weakest, and are still like that, determined to colonise the world.
As can be seen everywhere in the world, and in the massacres even in educational facilities at home.
They are also arms exporters par excellence, and those who possess them sooner or later use them.
I hope that Europe will be able to get out of the juggernaut imposed after the Second World War.
History, I recall, is written by the victors
rarely by the vanquished.
Secondo me non hanno nulla in comune a partire dalla nascita, la Svizzera nasce per una idea comune di reciproca solidarietà e libertà, gli USA ex colonia di detenuti, stermina un popolo indigeno, e segue la legge del taglione, il più forte sopprime il più debole, e sono ancora così, decisi a colonizzare il mondo.
Come si vede un po’ ovunque nel mondo, e nelle stragi anche in strutture educative di casa loro.
Inoltre esportatore d’armi per eccellenza e chi le possiede prima o poi le usa.
Spero che Europa riesca a togliersi il giuoco imposto dopo la seconda guerra mondiale.
La Storia,ricordo, viene scritta dai vincitori
raramente dai vinti .
Christian Müller
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
Switzerland cannot and should not learn anything from the USA! The supposed democracy in the USA has degenerated into a plutocracy, the armaments-industrial complex is in charge, the gap between rich and poor is constantly growing, and economically the USA would be bankrupt if the dollar were not the world's trading currency (note the negative trade balance!). No other country has initiated more wars in the last hundred years and has more war victims on its conscience, no other country has the arrogance of the USA to have to play the world's policeman. The US-led NATO is not a defence alliance but an offensive pact and the EU is dancing to the US tune and ruining itself. The fact that the USA is concerned about democracy in other countries is nothing more than a bad joke.
Die Schweiz kann und soll nichts von den USA lernen! Die vermeintliche Demokratie in den USA ist zur Plutokratie verkommen, das Sagen hat der Rüstungsindustrielle Industrie-Komplex, die Kluft zwischen Arm und Reich wächst unentwegt, und wirtschaftlich wären die USA pleite, wäre der Dollar nicht die Welthandelswährung (man beachte die negative Handelsbilanz!). Kein anderes Land hat in den letzten hundert Jahren mehr Kriege initiiert und mehr Kriegsopfer auf dem Gewissen, kein anderes Land hat die Arroganz der USA, den Weltpolizisten spielen zu müssen. Die von den USA geführte NATO ist kein Verteidigungsbündnis, sondern ein Angriffspakt und die EU tanzt nach der US-Geige und ruiniert sich selbst. Dass es der USA in anderen Ländern um die Demokratie geht, ist nicht mehr als ein schlechter Witz.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Christian Müller
So, in your opinion, could the USA learn from Switzerland?
Also könnte die USA Ihrer Meinung nach von der Schweiz lernen?
OCRAM
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
@Christian Müller
To say an apodictic 'Nothing' is to ignore history in general and the history of liberal and democratic institutions in particular. Switzerland copied the American federal constitution in almost everything and that already means a great deal. Relations between the USA and Switzerland have always been excellent, and after the victory over Nazi Germany with the decisive US contribution, they reached their peak. Indeed, throughout the 1950s and to some extent the 1960s, the USA was the inspiration for a new and more modern way of life, not least with its rock and jazz music. But the Swiss and European rancour against the USA began at least as early as the infamous '68, where the Americans were an easy target after the disastrous war in Vietnam. But very few know that the protest against the 'system' came from the USA and especially from the University of Berkeley, California. Then the protest movement spread throughout Europe from Paris. This continuous criticism against the USA was and still is embraced by the European left (!) to this day, especially by teachers, academics, 'intellectuals', artists and even the so-called 'leftists'. artists and even the so-called 'radical-chic' who always set the trend. Of course, with Trump this divisive phenomenon will continue to intensify, but Europe as a whole will continue to sail in the wake of the USA, having no other sustainable choices, especially commercial ones. Finally, it should be remembered that almost all innovations since the post-war period have come from the US, including IT. To deny this would only be foolish.
Dire un "Nulla" apodittico, significa ignorare la storia in generale e quella delle istituzioni liberarli e democratiche in particolare. La Svizzera copiò la costituzione federale americana in quasi tutto e già questo significa moltissimo. I rapporti fra USA e Svizzera furono da sempre ottimi e dopo la vittoria sulla Germania nazista col determinante contributo USA, raggiunsero l'apice. Infatti per tutti gli anni'50 e in parte anche '60, gli USA furono gli ispiratori di un nuovo e più moderno modo di vita, non da ultimo con la sua musica rock e Jazz. Però l'astio svizzero e dell'Europa contro gli USA, iniziò almeno dal famigerato '68 , ove gli americani furono facile bersaglio dopo la disastrosa guerra in Vietnam. Ma ben pochi sanno che la protesta contro il "sistema" provenne proprio dagli USA e soprattutto dall'università di Berkeley, California. Poi il movimento protestatario dilagò in tutta Europa partendo da Parigi. Questa critica continua contro gli USA fu ed è tuttora abbracciata dalla sinistra europea (!) sino a tutt'oggi, soprattutto dagli insegnanti, universitari, "intellettuali" , artisti e anche dai cosiddetti "radical-chic" che fanno sempre tendenza. Certo che con Trump questo fenomeno divisivo continuerà ad acuirsi, ma l'Europa tutta continuerà a navigare nella scia degli USA, non avendo altre scelte sostenibili, soprattutto commerciali. Va infine ricordato che quasi tutte le novità, a partire dal dopoguerra, provennero dagli USA, informatica compresa. Negarlo sarebbe solo da stolti.
Sardasca
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
How badly researched is this article? The correspondent actually claims that these Swiss settlers colonised uninhabited land. So what about the indigenous population of the time? She probably thinks it was negligible
Wie schlecht ist dieser Beitrag recherchiert? Die Korrespondentin behauptet tatsächlich, dass diese Schweizer Siedler unbesiedeltes Land besiedelten. Was ist dann mit der damaligen indigenen Bevölkerung? Wahrscheinlich denkt sie,vernachlässigbar
Melanie Eichenberger SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Sardasca
Thank you for your comment. Which article are you referring to?
Danke für Ihren Kommentar. Auf welchen Beitrag beziehen Sie sich?
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
Es ist tatsächlich nicht klar, auf welchen Beitrag Sie sich beziehen @Sardasca. Wir haben einerseits in Beiträgen den Ethnozid in Nordamerika beleuchtet: https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/kultur/handlanger-des-amerikanischen-ethnozids/46767796
Andererseits geht ja auch der jüngere Beitrag über die Schweizer Auswanderung eingangs darauf ein, dass sich Diebold von Erlach in die Angelegenheiten von Indigenen einmischte: https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/swiss-abroad/wie-schweizerinnen-in-die-usa-einwanderten-und-welche-spuren-sie-hinterlassen-haben/86667995
d.maumary
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
The USA has a strange relationship with direct democracy. The politicians don't want any interference from the plebs! You can see this in Florida, where the deSantis government is doing everything it can to thwart a vote to allow abortion. So far, all pro-abortion bills have passed, even in the very conservative rural states. The other example is book-banning. A single voter can have unpopular books banned from school and public libraries! These are usually books about minorities that offend the "Christians". Americans always insist on their freedoms, even when they curtail the rights of others, according to the motto: "I do what I want and you do the same!" Not a society I want to live in.
Die USA haben ein seltsames Verhältnis zur direkten Demokratie. Die Politiker wollen keine Einmischung vom Plebs! Man sieht dies in Florida, wo die Regierung von deSantis mit allen Mitteln eine Abstimmung hintertreibt, die Abtreibung zulassen will. Bis jetzt sind alle Pro-Abtreibungs Vorlagen angenommen worden, sogar in den sehr konservativen ländlichen Staaten. Das andere Beispiel ist Buch-Bann. Ein einziger Wähler kann unliebsame Bücher aus Schul- und öffentlichen Bibliotheken verbannen lassen! Das sind dann meistens Bücher über Minderheiten, die den “Christen” aufstoßen. Die Amerikaner pochen immer auf ihre Freiheiten, auch wenn sie Rechte der andern beschneiden, nach dem Motto: “Ich mache, was ich will, und du machst das auch!” Nicht eine Gesellschaft, in der ich leben möchte.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@d.maumary
In other words, you would call for a different understanding or different protection for the states with direct democratic votes in the USA? How could the country learn from Switzerland?
Das heisst, Sie würden ein anderes Verständnis oder einen anderen Schutz für die Staaten mit direktdemokratischen Abstimmungen in der USA fordern? Wie könnte das Land da von der Schweiz lernen?
OCRAM
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.
@d.maumary
Coarse subjective comment and therefore wrong!
Commento soggettivo grossolano e perciò sbagliato!
nkyriazi@comcast.net
The US could learn that states should have more power than the federal government. Switzerland could learn what happens when the federal government takes power from the states: polarization. Democracy is not freedom. It is just voting. What you can vote on determines how much freedom you have. If we must vote for what we shall all have for dinner, that is democracy but it is not freedom.
Rik Ringers
As a Belgian who is in favor of direct democracy, i see many advantages in general over representative democracy, and some of the issues i think we face in our society are similar to that of the US to an extend as being a product of "some lack of democracy".
The Swiss seem to have their politicians "far more on a leech", the possibility that any new law or project could easily be shot down by a petition puts more of a brake on "predatory politics". Politics in Belgium are imho pretty nepotist, the politicians + the party's are payed huge sums and and they are a numerous group, raising their income was one of the few things they could agree on in the many state reforms they had over the last decades. There is a "minimal vote requirement" of 5% for a party to get "party funding" giving the established party's more of a monopoly and Belgian citizens have the legal duty to vote which thereby also seemingly legitimizes the representative system.
Another issue is that of populist politics in representative democracy. Self proclaimed "champions of the people" who are everything but thrive on anti-establishment narratives which become appealing to a part of the electorate, though many times those populist politicians are as much establishment as it can get and they just sell that narrative as a "brand". The thing is, i presume its much harder to employ that political strategy if the established system is mostly just the product of the will of the citizens, It's easier i think to organize a whole political campaign on denouncing your careerist political opponent than it is by denouncing the choices the people have made, the Swiss are their own populist champions.
Its notable also how different the relations between language groups are in Belgium and how that factors into our identity compared to the Swiss. It is my impression that the Swiss have far more national unity than we have in Belgium, and that might also be due to how some cultural identity politics have played out in Belgium trough representative democracy. Sometimes it was just to easy for the flemmish to blame the Wallonian politicians and vice versa.
Its not just Belgium, it's a theme that exists in many representative democracies, just like in the US. Trump couldnt be the most Entitled "champion of the people" ever full stop, its just rediculous, and its just the same denunciary politics aimed at scapegoats a a means to receive poltical "carté blanche" for whatever policy they actually want to pursue withought the electorate still having a chance to further intervene or even to ask for political recall. All must be decide in one big money electoral show where the people must be dazzled. What you actually get is a system that is logically more self serving to its establishment at the expense of the broader electorate.
Any direct democratic society though also needs a sufficiently politically concious, educated and committed people to succeed to a acceptable degree. I do thing Belgians are generally educated enough but we dont have "the experience" of ruling our self and we wont learn much if we dont start doing it more.
You could learn us that "we have the self determinist right to have direct democracy if we choose it", you can learn us what laws and institutions are required to establish and uphold that direct democratic system. What "Fora" you would use for social media to discuss politics in a world where social media and control of it has become "often troublesome". Your past actions can provide insights on how this system works and it's electorate behaves.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Rik Ringers
Thank you for your description from Belgium - but referendums can of course also further intensify polarisation, at least in relation to individual issues: Populist decisions, which professional politicians might tend to shy away from, are taken when voters express their opinions in certain areas.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Schilderung aus Belgien - selbstverständlich können Volksabstimmungen die Polarisierung aber auch weiter zuspitzen, zumindest bezogen auf einzelne Themen: Populistische Entscheide, von denen professionelle Politiker:innen vielleicht eher zurückschrecken, werden getroffen, wenn die Stimmberechtigten in gewissen Bereichen ihre Meinung zum Ausdruck bringen.
Sind Sie sich übrigens bewusst, dass die direkte Demokratie in US-Bundesstaaten ausgeprägter ist als irgendwo sonst auf der Welt ausserhalb der Schweiz?
https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/demokratie/schweizer-politikwissenschaftler-die-usa-erlebt-diesen-november-einen-rekord-an-abstimmungen-%c3%bcber-abtreibungsrechte/87458700
Hofnarr
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Rik Ringers
Hello
The politicians in Switzerland do more or less what they want because our Federal Constitution "is not authoritative law thanks to Art. 190.
Grüezi
Die Politiker in der CH machen mehr oder weniger was sie wollen weil unsere Bundesverfassung "Dank Art. 190 kein massgebendes Recht ist.
Rik Ringers
@Benjamin von Wyl
I was aware of this. Then again, thats mostly on the state level afaik while the federal government is a very different beast. I have discussed this for example in relation to public infrastructure, as you might be aware your country has very good and highly used rail infrastructure while this is quite lacking in the US. I asked people from the US whether they had the possibility to decide over such infrastructure and its funding at the direct democratic level the way the Swiss for example decided to build and fund the Gotthard base tunnel among others. it appears though that this is mostly handled on the federal level where the public hardly can intervene, and the federal government is rather too much car and plane centric for many Americans taste.
On the federal level democracy seems more flawed. The way the electoral college works can allow a presidential candidate to become president trough a significantly lower popular vote count than his opponent even within that binary 2 party option, lest not to speak even about many tricks that influence it like Gerrymandering. Furthermore, the function and actions of the US supreme court have historically often been quite questionable, partizan and even destabilizing.
Anyway, the point of me coming here is mostly to learn about direct democracy in Switzerland and how it could be of benefit for or own country, so im gratefull for the feedback and will likely participate in more discussions here to have a feeling how Swiss feel about their own system and its characteristics and how the public debate is held. though i have to admit i'm also intrigued by this site as to its function as public political forum and the way the debates are held.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Rik Ringers
Thank you for your detailed reply, Mr Ringers. Please let us know if you are looking for an article on a specific topic - I will be happy to help you!
Vielen Dank für Ihre ausführliche Antwort, Herr Ringers. Teilen Sie uns gerne mit, wenn Sie einen Artikel zu einem bestimmten Thema suchen - dann versuche ich Sie gerne zu unterstützen!
Hier können Sie sich zudem für den Newsletter-Crashkurs über das politische System der Schweiz anmelden: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/become-a-democracy-pro-in-four-weeks-sign-up-now/48719890
fordreubens
Yes America was bad to the indigenous people. Today many indigenous people are the wealthiest Americans and we are returning stewardship of the land. We have a lot of work to do but it is happening.
Yes America was bad with slavery, it is not fixed but it is getting better. Now we are best friends, the kids all dress and talk the same, it is now the same culture, we are becoming one people. It is why there is such an outcry over any perceived racism here.
To put it into perspective, my local hospital speaks 170 languages. We are a racially integrated society that leverages our people to make us successful internationally, we even have the Swiss immigrants that moved to Utah many years ago. I like to think we learned how to use our cultural integration as an advantage from the working blueprint in Switzerland.
Yes American politics are crazy, but they are about as real as American wrestling. It is like the Andy Kaufman political show, and it is fantastic entertainment for the whole world . . . but lets be honest, we are who we are because our government does what our businesses need them to do, so we can compete internationally. In reality we are very stable, logical and rational, very much like the Swiss.
Sure I wish we would learn to be more neutral like Switzerland again. Choosing sides in a war is almost always a bad look.
I wish we were as clean, on time, and organized like Switzerland. I wish America smelled as fantastic as Switzerland, my city sometimes smells like a sewer.
I wish Americans understood the value of leisure like the Swiss, we both work a lot but I think you guys have more fun than we do.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@fordreubens
Thank you very much for your comment - written as captivatingly as a politician's speech!
Vielen Dank für Ihr Kommentar - mitreissend geschrieben wie die Rede eines Politikers!
Sie glauben also nicht, dass die Polarisierung in den USA ein echtes Risiko ist für die soziale Kohäsion? https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/democracy/trump-biden-and-hatred-how-us-polarisation-affects-americans-in-switzerland/84180825
Renzo Do Rio
what ideas they can use to win the trust of their citizens?
Well, I think that DIRECT DEMOCRACY, should be an active agenda promoted by Switzerland to anyone including our EU friends.
it is amazing how people know little about it (on purpose!) and when they learn about it, think it should be adopted in their country
My overall feeling is that people are increasingly feeling powerless to make change because the democratic institutions have been "hijacked" by too many un-elected people who just seek power for power. We are getting entangled in a web of too many regulations which create too many frictions in all aspects of day to day life and "common sense" is being trashed under the supervision of those "un-elected" .
The distrust is becoming a battleground of "we" against them.
Benjamin von Wyl SWI SWISSINFO.CH
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Renzo Do Rio
Thank you for your description! So you are of the opinion that referendums could put the brakes on dwindling trust? The contrast between "us" and "them" could also be softened by a multi-party system, for example.
Vielen Dank für Ihre Schilderung! Sie sind also der Meinung, dass Volksabstimmungen das schwindende Vertrauen bremsen könnten? Der Gegensatz zwischen "wir" gegen "sie" könnte ja beispielsweise auch über ein Mehrparteiensystem aufgeweicht werden.
Viele US-Bundesstaaten kennen direktdemokratische Volksrechte. Gerade mit dem Ende von Roe vs. Wade erleben sie nun einen Aufbruch: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/democracy/why-the-us-and-switzerland-are-direct-democracy-sister-republics/87536566
SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR
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