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Switzerland features a system of government not seen in any other nation: direct representation, sometimes called half-direct democracy (this may be arguable, because theoretically, the sovereign of Switzerland is actually its entire electorate). [14] Referendums on the most important laws have been used since the 1848 constitution.
The Swiss Confederation is a semi-direct democracy (representative democracy with strong instruments of direct democracy). [30] The nature of direct democracy in Switzerland is fundamentally complemented by its federal governmental structures (in German also called the Subsidiaritätsprinzip). [5] [6] [7] [8]
Switzerland's voting system is unique among modern democratic nations in that Switzerland practises direct democracy in parallel with representative democracy, which is why the Swiss system is known as a semi-direct democracy. [2] Direct democracy allows any citizen to challenge any law approved by the parliament or, at any time, propose a ...
The Landsgemeinde is an old form of direct democracy, still in practice in two cantons. Direct democracy and federalism are hallmarks of the Swiss political system defined in the Swiss constitution. [97] The Swiss people are subject to three legal jurisdictions: the municipal, cantonal and federal levels.
The federal popular initiative (German: Eidgenössische Volksinitiative, French: Initiative populaire fédérale, Italian: Iniziativa popolare federale) is an instrument of direct democracy in Switzerland. It allows citizens to propose changes to the Swiss Federal Constitution.
Direct democracy: Government in which the people represent themselves and vote directly for new laws and public policy. Switzerland (semi-direct) Electocracy: A form of representative democracy where citizens are able to vote for their government but cannot participate directly in governmental decision making. The government has almost absolute ...
In the early modern period, the individual confederate allies came to be seen as republics; while the six traditional allies had a tradition of direct democracy in the form of the Landsgemeinde, the urban states operated via representation in city councils, de facto oligarchic systems dominated by families of the patriciate. [note 2]
The new preamble also provides a provision about responsibility before and the rights of the future generations of the people of Switzerland. The general provisions contained in Title 1 (articles 1–6) define the characteristic traits of the Swiss state on all of its three levels of authority: federal, cantonal and municipal .