Swiss American Historical Society Review
Keywords
Switzerland, democracy, history, diplomacy
Abstract
Switzerland is one of the world’s oldest continuous democracies. Since the Middle Ages, Swiss cantons engaged in democracy at the local level, which led to the Federal Charter of 1291. This important document laid the foundations for the Swiss Confederacy, an alliance of cantons that eventually became a unified democratic nation in the heart of Europe. For over seven centuries, Swiss democracy has impacted people and institutions in Switzerland and elsewhere. America’s founders were well versed in Swiss political institutions and borrowed from them when creating the Constitution of the United States. As democracies come under attack and see their powers challenged and reduced in many parts of the world in the early twenty first century, it is worth learning about Switzerland’s unique, long lasting and stable democracy.
Recommended Citation
Marabello, Thomas Quinn
(2023)
"The Origins of Democracy in Switzerland,"
Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 59:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol59/iss1/4