Consociational Theory and Switzerland Revisited

In: Acta politica: AP ; international journal of political science ; official journal of the Dutch Political Science Association (Nederlandse Kring voor Wetenschap der Politiek), Band 37, Heft 1-2, S. 104-120

Abstract

Religious conflicts between Catholics & Protestants have almost completely vanished from Swiss politics. It is plausible that consociational practices have contributed to this development. The language issue, on the other hand, has gained salience although in this respect the Swiss attempt to practice consociationalism more carefully than ever before. What has made consociationalism between the two major language groups more difficult in recent times is the tendency of French & German speakers to see the identity of Switzerland in a different light. If conflicts between German & French speakers deal with language per se, they can be more easily dealt with in a consociational way than if language is only a marker for different views of the role of Switzerland in Europe & the world at large. 6 References. Adapted from the source document.