Political decision-making in Switzerland. The consensus model under pressure

The Swiss consensus democracy model has been - and remains - under pressure. While being a non-EU country, Switzerland is heavily influenced by European integration and exemplifies some of the crucial changes at work on the continent.

Based on a rich collection of data covering the most important Swiss decision-making processes in recent years, this book highlights these changes and related variations across policy domains. It examines europeanization as a major driving factor in the strengthening of bureaucratic policy-making, and charts the decline of corporatism and reinforcement of partisan politics as a result of institutional reforms, mediatization, polarization and the rise of a populist right wing party. Switzerland has moved away from the ideal-type of consensus. Coalitions have become more unstable and policy outputs less predictable, yet this may be good news in terms of innovation.

Contents:

Introduction - Pascal Sciarini
1. From Corporatism to Bureaucratic and Partisan Politics: Changes in Decision-Making Processes over Time - Pascal Sciarini
2. More Power Balance, Less Consensus: Changes in Decision-Making Structures over Time - Pascal Sciarini
3. Looking Beneath the Surface: Differences in Decision-Making Structures Across Processes - Manuel Fischer
4. Dominance, Competition, Compromise or Consensus? Explaining Decision-Making Structures - Manuel Fischer
5. Coalition Formation in Parliament and During the Policy Process - Manuel Fischer and Denise Traber
6. Europeanization, Institutional Changes and Differential Empowerment - Manuel Fischer, Pascal Sciarini and Denise Traber
7. 'Going Public': The Mediatization of Decision-Making Processes - Manuel Fischer and Pascal Sciarini
8. Who Is Influential and Why? The Determinants of Reputational Power - Manuel Fischer and Pascal Sciarini
9. Who Is Successful and Who Is Not? Actors' Satisfaction with the Policy Output - Denise Traber
10. Reactive, Slow and ... Innovative? Decision-Making Structures and Policy Outputs - Manuel Fischer
Conclusion - Pascal Sciarini

This in-depth study of the decision-making processes of the early 2000s shows that the Swiss consensus democracy has changed considerably. Power relations have transformed, conflict has increased, coalitions have become more unstable and outputs less predictable. Yet these challenges to consensus politics provide opportunities for innovation.