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Cover -- Half-Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Introduction -- 2 From Corporatism to Bureaucratic and Partisan Politics: Changes in Decision-Making Processes over Time -- 3 More Power Balance, Less Consensus: Changes in Decision-Making Structures over Time -- 4 Looking beneath the Surface: Differences in Decision-Making Structures across Processes -- 5 Dominance, Competition, Compromise or Consensus? Explaining Decision-Making Structures -- 6 Coalition Formation in Parliament and during the Policy Process

THIS ARTICLE APPLIES A MODEL PROPOSED BY JOHN ZALLER TO THE STUDY OF SWISS ELECTORS SURVEYED AT THE TIME OF FEDERAL REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS COVERING 15 YEARS. IT IS FOUND THAT THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSALS IS A FUNCTION OF THE LEVEL OF POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND POLITICAL PREDISPOSITIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL VOTER ON THE ONE HAND, AND OF THE DEGREE OF DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE ELITES ON THE OTHER. THE FORMATION OF OPINIONS ON FOREIGN POLICY MATTERS FINDS ITS SPECIFICITY IN THE CONDITIONS THAT CHARACTERIZE CAMPAIGNS THAT DIFFER IN TERMS OF INTENSITY, LEVEL OF CONFLICT, AND PARTY ALIGNMENT.

Direct democratic institutions, while centrepieces of the Swiss political system, find themselves under attack. In this article, we challenge the widespread criticism that popular rights increasingly limit the political elite's control of the decision-making process. Our analysis is based on aggregate data of all acts voted on by the Swiss Parliament since 1947 - those brought about by popular initiatives or those subject to optional and mandatory referendum - and on individual survey data on most federal votes held since 1981. We underline the high support of government and the impact of elite consensus on the destiny of legislative acts in the plebiscitary phase (submitted to a vote or not, subsequently accepted or not). While congruent with the aggregate analysis, results obtained at the individual level are less clear-cut. The influence of voting recommendations and information channels on the voter's decision appears rather weak. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

Reviews the Ingelhart analysis and refutes its two main hypotheses using empirical data. Argues that the old and new politics are no longer opposed, but can be integrated into a synthetical left--right axis. But the cleavage has changed its meaning under the influence of ecological issues. (SJK)