Political Decision-Making in Switzerland: The Consensus Model under Pressure (Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century)

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.

Pascal Sciarini is Professor of Swiss and Comparative Politics at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Manuel Fischer is Researcher at the Department of Environmental Social Sciences at Eawag, Dübendorf, and lecturer at the Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, Switzerland.

Denise Traber is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland.