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Liberal and Radical Democracies: The Swiss Cantons Compared

Bühlmann, Marc ; Vatter, Adrian ; Dlabac, Oliver ; Schaub, Hans-Peter

In: World Political Science, 2014, vol. 10, no. 2, p. 385-423

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    Title
    • Liberal and Radical Democracies: The Swiss Cantons Compared
    Author
    • Bühlmann, Marc. Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Switzerland
    • Vatter, Adrian. Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Switzerland
    • Dlabac, Oliver. Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland
    • Schaub, Hans-Peter. Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:292162
    Summary
    This article examines the widespread hypothesis that German-speaking Swiss cantons exhibit radical-democratic characteristics, while the Latin cantons possess stronger liberal-representative democratic profiles. Empirical and multi-dimensional measuring of the quality of democracy in the cantons shows that this hypothesis does not do the complexity of cantonal democracy justice. Today's position of the cantons along the axes of liberal and radical democracy is best explained with reference to the strong liberal and democratic constitutional movements within the cantons during the middle of the 19th century