Switzerland

Unique Political System

The political system and the geographic characteristics of Switzerland provide a unique research setting. This includes their federalist organization, the strong inter-dependency of its regional units due to their small size, the four official languages, and some direct democratic elements. Two examples from political science supplement the analysis of elite networks known from most countries. Analysis of intercantonal cooperation shows that cooperation is most likely between neighboring cantons, and this holds especially true for territorial policies. The second important factor is the similarity of the language, which is most important for cooperation in education and cultural policies. However, political similarity seems to be of minor importance.

The direct democratic system of Switzerland limits possible comparisons with political systems from other countries. One of the few exceptions is California, where votes are also an important part of the political system. The analysis of voting data provides insight into regional patterns in voting behavior over decades, as demonstrated by Jörg Balsiger in his 2009 analysis on decisions about sustainable mountain development in the Swiss Alps and California's Sierra Nevada. Another international comparative project by Eelke Heemskerk and Gerhard Schnyder in 2008 analyzed the special situation of small states, international pressures, and interlocking directorates by comparing Switzerland to the Netherlands. More sociological projects on networks in Switzerland are very much in line with international research, both with respect to their topics as well as their findings. This includes studies on social networks of mobile phone use (such as by Sebastian Schnorf in 2008), dynamics of social networks in school classes (by Thomas N Friemel in 2008), the importance of social networks for elderly people (by Annegret Wigger and colleagues in 2009), and the impact of online communities on social integration (Bettina Heintz and Christoph Müller in 2000). In line with the international literature on the impact of online communities on off-line relationships, it is found that online ties supplement off-line ties and do not necessarily replace them.

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