History of Switzerland since 1848
This article deals with the
history of Switzerland
since 1848.
See
Early Modern Switzerland
for the
Early Modern period
,
Switzerland in the Napoleonic era
for the period of 1798?1814, and
Restoration and Regeneration (Switzerland)
for the period of 1815?1848.
Formation of the Federal State (1848)
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Following a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, the
Sonderbundskrieg
, the
Swiss Federal Constitution
was passed on 12 September 1848. The constitution was heavily influenced by the
US Constitution
and the ideas of the
French Revolution
. The constitution establishes the
Swiss Confederation
, governed by a comparatively strong
federal government
, instead the model of a
confederation
of independent
cantons
bound by treaties.
Industrialisation and economic growth (1848?1914)
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From 1847 to 1914, the
Swiss railway
network was developed. The
Schweizerische Nordbahn
(SNB) society opened the
first railway line on Swiss soil
in 1847, connecting
Zurich
and
Baden
.
The
Gotthard Rail Tunnel
was completed in 1881.
The
Swiss watchmaking industry
has its origins in the 18th century, but boomed during the 19th century, turning the village of
La Chaux-de-Fonds
into an industrial center. Rapid urban growth also enlarged
Zurich
, which incorporated its
industrial suburb
Aussersihl
into the municipality in 1891.
Banking
emerged as a significant factor in Swiss economy with the foundation of the
Union Bank of Switzerland
in 1862, and the
Swiss Bank Corporation
in 1872.
The
Golden age of alpinism
in the 1850s to 1860s lay the foundation to the
tourism industry
.
World wars (1914?1945)
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During
World War I
and
World War II
, Switzerland maintained a stance of armed
neutrality
, and apart from minor skirmishes was not involved militarily. Because of its neutral status, Switzerland was of considerable interest to the warring parties, as a scene for
diplomacy
,
espionage
,
commerce
, and as a safe haven for
refugees
.
During World War I, Switzerland was situated between the
Central Powers
to the north and east, and the
Entente Powers
to the south and west. During World War II, Switzerland was entirely surrounded by the
Axis Powers
from 1940 to 1944.
1945 to present
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Government
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From 1959, the
Federal Council
, elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the liberal
Free Democrats
, the Catholic
Christian Democrats
, the left-wing
Social Democrats
and the right-wing
People's Party
, essentially creating a system without a sizeable
parliamentary opposition
(see
concordance system
), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in a
direct democracy
.
Women were granted the
right to vote
in the first Swiss cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971
[5]
and, after resistance, in the last canton
Appenzell Innerrhoden
in 1990. After
suffrage
at the federal level women quickly rose in political significance, with the first woman on the seven-member
Federal Council
executive being
Elisabeth Kopp
who served from 1984 to 1989. The first female president was
Ruth Dreifuss
, elected in 1998 to become president during 1999. The Swiss president is elected every year from those among the seven member high council and cannot serve two consecutive terms.
During the
Cold War
, Swiss authorities
considered the construction
of a Swiss
nuclear bomb
.
[6]
Leading nuclear physicists at the
Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
such as
Paul Scherrer
made this a realistic possibility. In a nationwide
referendum held in April 1962
, the Swiss people chose not to prohibit nuclear arms in Switzerland.
[7]
However, financial problems with the defense budget prevented the substantial funds from being allocated, and the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.
[8]
Domestic
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In 1979, parts of the
Bernese Jura
attained
independence
while remaining in the Federation, forming the new
canton of Jura
.
The
Demographics of Switzerland
has changed in similar ways as in other states in Western Europe. Since 1945, the population of Switzerland has grown from roughly 4.5 to 7.5 million, mostly between 1945 and 1970, with a brief negative growth in the late 1970s, and a population growth hovering around 0.5% per year since the 1990s, mostly due to immigration. With a population composed of a roughly balanced combination of Roman Catholics and Protestants, together amounting to more than 95%, the population without any religious affiliation has grown to more than 10% in the 2000s, while the Muslim population grew from practically nil to some 4% over the past decades.
Italians
had been the largest group of resident foreigners since the 1920, but with the
Yugoslav wars
of the 1990s, large-scale immigration of refugees has changed this picture, and residents with origins in the former
Yugoslavia
now constitute the largest group of resident foreigners, with some 200,000 people (roughly 3% of the population).
Relations with the European Union
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With the exception of
Liechtenstein
, Switzerland has been completely surrounded by the
European Union
since 1995. Swiss-EU relations are a major issue in the country.
Swiss voters narrowly rejected
a December 1992 referendum
to join the
European Economic Area
, with 50.3% of voters opposed. Swiss voters rejected EU membership in
a March 2001 referendum
, with 76.8% opposed.
Despite Swiss opposition to joining the EU, voters have accepted
bilateral agreements
with the union. In
a May 2000 referendum
, for example, Swiss voters approved such agreements. In
a June 2005 referendum
, Swiss voters approved joining the
Schengen Area
.
In February 2014, Swiss voters approved
a referendum
to reinstitute quotas on immigration to Switzerland, setting off a period of finding an implementation that would not violate the
EU's freedom of movement accords
that Switzerland adopted.
Switzerland co-founded the
European Free Trade Association
in 1960, which is a parallel organization to the EU.
Notes and references
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]
- ^
Holenstein, Andre (2012). "Die Hauptstadt existiert nicht".
UniPress ? Forschung und Wissenschaft an der Universitat Bern
(scientific article) (in German). 152 (Sonderfall Hauptstatdtregion). Berne: Department Communication, University of Berne: 16?19.
doi
:
10.7892/boris.41280
.
S2CID
178237847
.
Als 1848 ein politisch-administratives Zentrum fur den neuen Bundesstaat zu bestimmen war, verzichteten die Verfassungsvater darauf, eine Hauptstadt der Schweiz zu bezeichnen und formulierten stattdessen in Artikel 108: "Alles, was sich auf den Sitz der Bundesbehorden bezieht, ist Gegenstand der Bundesgesetzgebung." Die Bundesstadt ist also nicht mehr und nicht weniger als der Sitz der Bundesbehorden.
[In 1848, when a political and administrative centre was being determined for the new federation, the founders of the constitution abstained from designating a capital city for Switzerland and instead formulated in Article 108: "Everything, which relates to seat of the authorities, is the subject of the federal legislation." The federal city is therefore no more and no less than the seat of the federal authorities.]
- ^
Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005).
"Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns"
.
French Politics
.
3
(3): 323?351.
doi
:
10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087
.
S2CID
73642272
.
- ^
Elgie, Robert (2016). "Government Systems, Party Politics, and Institutional Engineering in the Round".
Insight Turkey
.
18
(4): 79?92.
ISSN
1302-177X
.
JSTOR
26300453
.
- ^
"Bevolkerungsstand am Ende des 2. Quartals 2023 | Bundesamt fur Statistik"
. 20 September 2023.
Archived
from the original on 20 September 2023
. Retrieved
20 September
2023
.
- ^
Country profile: Switzerland
UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Retrieved on 2009-11-25
- ^
7.4 States Formerly Possessing or Pursuing Nuclear Weapons
Retrieved March 6, 2014
- ^
"Historical Outline on the Question of Swiss Nuclear Armament"
. Retrieved
8 December
2015
.
- ^
Swiss nuclear bomb
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
October 9, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2014
Further reading
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- Bonjour, E.,
H. S. Offler
, G. R. Potter.
A Short History of Switzerland
(1952)
online
- Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head.
A Concise History of Switzerland
(Cambridge University Press, 2013). pp 132?61
online
- Codevilla, Angelo M.
Between the Alps and a Hard Place: Switzerland in World War II and the Rewriting of History
(2000)
excerpt and text search
- Dawson, William Harbutt.
Social Switzerland: Studies of Present-day Social Movements and Legislation
(1897) 302 pp; with focus on social and economic history, poverty, labour
online
- Fahrni, Dieter.
An Outline History of Switzerland. From the Origins to the Present Day
(8th ed. 2003, Pro Helvetia, Zurich).
- Lerner, Marc.
A Laboratory of Liberty: The Transformation of Political Culture in Republican Switzerland, 1750?1848
(Brill, 2011).
- Luck, James Murray.
A History of Switzerland. The First 100,000 Years: Before the Beginnings to the Days of the Present.
SPOSS, Palo Alto CA. (1985)
- Luthi, Barbara, and Damir Skenderovic, eds.
Switzerland and Migration: Historical and Current Perspectives on a Changing Landscape
(Springer, 2019).
- Oechsli, Wilhelm.
History of Switzerland, 1499?1914
(1922)
full text online
- Schelbert, Leo.
Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
(2007)
excerpt and text search
External links
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