Switzerland: Internal Conflict and Consolidation

In the following century and a half, government in many cantons became the exclusive business of a small oligarchy. While Switzerland became insignificant politically in the 18th cent., its wealth steadily increased, and its scientists and writers (von Haller, von Mühler, Pestalozzi, Rousseau) made it an intellectual center. The Swiss oligarchies strongly opposed the French Revolution. Invading French armies established the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803) and in 1799 clashed with Austrian and Russian forces. Napoleon's Act of Mediation (1803) partially restored the old confederation, and, at the Congress of Vienna, the Pact of Restoration (1815) substantially reestablished the old regime, except that the confirmation of nine new cantons brought the total to its present number.

By the Treaty of Paris (1815), Swiss neutrality was guaranteed for all time. A subsequent economic depression, which caused large-scale emigration to North and South America, and generally reactionary rule contributed to widely successful demands for revision of the cantonal constitutions and the rise of the Radical party, which favored greater centralization. Opposition to centralization centered in the Catholic rural cantons, which in 1845 formed the Sonderbund, a defensive alliance. After a brief and almost bloodless civil war (1847) the victorious Radicals transformed the confederation into one federal state under a new constitution adopted in 1848 (and recast in 1874). National unity grew, and much socialist legislation (such as railroad nationalization and social insurance) was enacted.

Armed neutrality was maintained throughout World Wars I and II. Switzerland was a member of the League of Nations, and although it has long participated in many activities of the United Nations, it did not become a UN member until 2002 for fear that its neutrality would be compromised. From 1959 Switzerland was governed by a four-party coalition that began as a center-right coalition and subsequently became a broader grouping. Also in 1959 Switzerland became a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA); in 1972 it signed an industrial free-trade agreement with the European Community (EC; since 1993 the European Union).

In the 1950s, French-speaking inhabitants of the Jura region of Bern canton unsuccessfully demanded, with some violence, the creation of a Jura canton. In 1977 a constitution was accepted, and in 1979 it officially became the twenty-third canton of the Swiss Confederation. In 1971, after a referendum was passed by male voters, women were given the right to vote and be elected at the federal level; subsequently, Elisabeth Kopp of the Radical Democratic party became the first woman government minister (1984–88).

In a 1986 plebiscite, a parliamentary proposal to join the United Nations was rejected by Swiss voters. In 1992, Swiss voters also rejected participation in the European Economic Area, an EFTA-EC common market, but did approve joining the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The rejection of the European Economic Area led to negotiations that resulted in a package of accords that established closer economic links with the European Union; voters approved the agreements in 2000.

Following charges that stolen assets deposited in Swiss banks by Nazis during World War II had not been properly returned, the country's two largest banks agreed in 1998 to pay $1.25 billion to the families of Holocaust victims; the banks had been facing lawsuits in the United States and were under international political pressure. Ruth Dreifuss, Switzerland's first woman president, served in the annually rotated post during 1999. In elections in 1999, the right-wing, nationalist People's party made sizable gains; this was regarded in part as a reaction to international criticism of Switzerland's role in World War II

Despite the turn to the right, Swiss voters in 2002 approved joining the United Nations, becoming the one of the last nations to seek membership in that organization (only Vatican City is not a member). In the 2003 and 2007 elections the People's party made further gains, becoming the largest party in the national council. In 2011 the People's party again won the largest share of the vote, but it was less than in 2007. A referendum to limit immigration, which was championed by the People's party, passed by a slim margin in 2014. The implications of the referendum, which required the government to impose limits on immigration and foreigners in the workforce, were unclear, but restrictions on free movement between Switzerland and the European Union would contravene a 2000 agreement, and under the 2000 accords the termination of one agreement could render all the accords null and void.

The 2015 national council elections again saw the People's party win the largest share of the vote, this time exceeding its 2007 share. In 2016 the Swiss government, in response to the immigration referendum, passed a law that required employers to give residents priority when filling jobs. In 2018 Swiss voters rejected a proposal, supported by the People's party, that would have given the Swiss constitution precedence over any conflicting international agreement. The People's party lost seats but remained the largest party after elections in 2019; two Green parties made the largest gains. Swiss voters solidly rejected ending the agreement with the EU allowing free movement of people, another proposal supported by the People's party, in 2020.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Internal Conflict and Consolidation
• Emergence of the Swiss Nation
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Swiss Political Geography