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Swiss Politics

Swiss payout to new EU members faces vote

This content was published on Jul 12, 2006 The rightwing Swiss People’s Party announced on Wednesday that it had succeeded in gathering enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue. The People’s Party said it had collected more than 70,000 signatures from the population – 50,000 are needed for a referendum to go ahead. The vote is expected to take place on…

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Swiss Politics

swiss lessons for sudan

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 Omer Awadalla Ali, who carried out his doctoral studies at the Institute of Federalism at Fribourg University, reflects upon his nation’s future. It only took three weeks for Ali to catch the federalism bug when he took part in one of the institute’s summer courses back in August 2000. The lawyer, who works for the…

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Swiss Politics

how federalism works without democracy

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 The United Arab Emirates is ruled by enlightened autocrats, without parties or elections. Nevertheless, the UAE works well as a federal state, just like Switzerland with its cantons. The domestic politics and geopolitical role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have more in common with Switzerland than might be expected from such an apparently different…

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switzerland’s federalism laboratory

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 Fribourg University’s Federalism Institute is leading the charge, inviting researchers from around the world and providing experts for conflict regions. For Thomas Fleiner, head of the institute, it’s not about exporting Swiss federalism. In fact he hates the idea. “Our job is to stimulate research that will lead to solutions adapted to situations very different…

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Swiss Politics

geneva – capital of the globalised world

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 Switzerland and its diplomatic service have benefited considerably from Geneva’s international stature, which has grown since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Geneva has long been host to the European headquarters of the United Nations and many other specialised UN agencies, but contrary to what many believe, it is not the Swiss capital. “Everyone thinks…

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Swiss Politics

swiss diplomacy awakens from its slumber

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 After finally joining the United Nations in 2002, the country has successfully turned the focus of its diplomatic efforts to multilateralism. For over a century, Swiss diplomacy was defined by good offices – managing diplomatic relations between countries. Since 1864, and the founding of the Red Cross, Geneva has hosted many international conferences. Negotiations over…

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Swiss Politics

spiez scientists work for peace

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 On behalf of international organisations, it trains experts and sends specialists to war zones or polluted sites from Siberia to Iraq. Since ancient times man has used poison on the battlefield. But it was during the First World War that it became a weapon of mass destruction. A ban laid down by the 1899 Hague…

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Swiss Politics

development aid begins at the grassroots

This content was published on Jul 11, 2006 However, without substantial means at its disposal, assistance is about quality not quantity. Just like the Chinese proverb, instead of giving a man a fish, Swiss aid teaches him to fish or better still to perfect his own fishing methods. Development aid boomed after the Second World War when the task of helping the poverty-stricken…

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Swiss Politics

Brussels and Bern hold taxing talks

This content was published on Jul 10, 2006 After talks on Monday in Brussels, Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger and the head of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, could only agree to keep the door open for further discussion. The EU Commission has been very critical of some Swiss cantons, which have convinced many foreign firms to move their headquarters there by granting…

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Swiss Politics

Discarded children

This content was published on Jul 9, 2006 Until the 1950s it was a common practice for poor Swiss families to give or sell their children to farmers. Many of these so-called “Verdingkinder” or “discarded children” suffered slave labour, beatings and abuse. A project by the national research foundation has been working against time to record as many of their stories as possible.…

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