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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the intersection of Central, Western, and Southern Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, and Italy to the south. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Alps, the Swiss Plateau, and the Jura mountains; the Alps cover the majority of Switzerland's territory, whereas most of the country's 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts many of its largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Winterthur, and Lucerne. .. more

Political science 49%
Law 17%

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
@leewas.bsky.social @lucasleemann.bsky.social
August 13, 2025 at 6:48 PM

Reposted by Switzerland

dziblatt.bsky.social
A re-run

"Why autocrats love emergencies" (2019)

www.nytimes.com/2019/01/12/o...
August 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
True and well put!
August 13, 2025 at 2:13 PM

Reposted by Switzerland

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
In Switzerland, there’s a referendum on everything—
even on how our future francs banknotes should look.

Soon, the Swiss National Bank will run a nationwide survey on 12 different design proposals.

And of course, one of them proudly showcasing Swiss (direct) democracy www.srf.ch/news/schweiz...
August 13, 2025 at 12:59 PM

Reposted by Switzerland

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Interview zum Schweizer Föderalismus – erstmals in neuer Funktion, aus neuem akademischen Daheim @unil.bsky.social @sspunil.bsky.social und mit viel Sommervibes! 🕶️

« Le Parlement fédéral est un moteur de la centralisation » www.schweizer-gemeinde.ch/artikel/das-... (deutsch/französisch/italienisch)
August 13, 2025 at 11:47 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
@cellmob.bsky.social
August 13, 2025 at 8:08 AM

Reposted by Switzerland

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Die AfD überholt die Union.

Und wieder stellen sich viele die Frage: Wie kann man autoritär-populistischen rechtsextreme Parteien stoppen – braucht es ein Parteiverbot oder kann man sie politisch eindämmen?

In der #Politkolumne zeigen wir, welche Strategien laut Politikwissenschaft wirksam sind⬇️
rfrbrghs.bsky.social Rahel Freiburghaus @rfrbrghs.bsky.social · May 12
#POLITKOLUMNE: There are 2 main strategies to counter the far-right: legal means & political responses

Courts alone won’t save democracy. What’s needed:
1️⃣firm stance against the far-right
2️⃣protest /civil soc. mobilization
3️⃣public institutions that guarantee equal public service access for everyone
August 12, 2025 at 5:41 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
📌
August 12, 2025 at 12:24 PM

Reposted by Switzerland, Scott L. Greer, David R. Miller , and 3 more

dziblatt.bsky.social
Vicente Valentim, Elias Dinas, & I came together to do this paper because we have all long shared an intution: mainstream center-right rhetoric shapes democratic norms. The hard part? Showing it empirically. We make some headway in this new paper. Grateful to @bjpols.bsky.social for publishing.
bjpols.bsky.social British Journal of Political Science @bjpols.bsky.social · Aug 11
NEW -

How Mainstream Politicians Erode Norms - cup.org/4lfeHvD

"we find that statements by mainstream politicians lead to more norm erosion than similar statements by radical-right politicians"

- @valentimvicente.bsky.social, Elias Dinas & @dziblatt.bsky.social

#OpenAccess
BJPolS abstract discussing the dynamics of mainstream and radical political rhetoric regarding anti-immigrant policies, highlighting differences in societal responses and enforcement norms based on the source of the rhetoric.
August 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM

Reposted by Switzerland

samdschmid.bsky.social
Thanks for citing our study @rfrbrghs.bsky.social! European democracies are much more exclusive than democratic theory requires.

More on this in German here: www.defacto.expert/2016/10/18/d...

And in English: jcms.ideasoneurope.eu/2018/09/07/h...
August 12, 2025 at 7:54 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Wenn der Schweizer Föderalismus der US-Föderalismus wäre:

«BUNDESRAT WENN DU NICHT KOLLEKTIV ZURÜCKTRITTST, WERDEN WIR IN DEN GEBERKANTONEN DIE SKITERASSEN AUF EWIG IMMER GEÖFFNET HALTEN UND ALL UNSERE NFA-ZAHLUNGEN EINFRIEREN. DANKE FÜR DEINE AUFMERKSAMKEIT IN DIESER SACHE»
August 12, 2025 at 5:21 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Thanks so much for your interest and for asking, excellent question indeed! Delighted to hereby share the authors‘ explanation of the measurement: www.defacto.expert/2016/10/18/d...
Bedenkliches Demokratiedefizit: Viertel der Schweizer Bevölkerung von Mitbestimmung ausgeschlossen – DeFacto
www.defacto.expert
August 11, 2025 at 6:27 PM

Reposted by Switzerland, Ruth Dassonneville, Dominik Wiedenhofer , and 3 more

catherinedevries.bsky.social
📢 New Publication 📢

📄 Review article in Nature Climate Change

It examines how resistance to climate policy is reshaping politics & why populist right parties are the main beneficiaries?

(with Valentina Bosseti, Italo Colantone & Giorgio Musto)

Short 🧵

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Green backlash and right-wing populism - Nature Climate Change
This Review considers research on the politics of climate policies. Climate policies, through their economic and cultural repercussions, impact public climate attitudes and voting behaviour, which in ...
www.nature.com
August 11, 2025 at 11:18 AM

Reposted by Switzerland, Ben H. Ansell, John Drury , and 19 more

bjpols.bsky.social
NEW -

How Mainstream Politicians Erode Norms - cup.org/4lfeHvD

"we find that statements by mainstream politicians lead to more norm erosion than similar statements by radical-right politicians"

- @valentimvicente.bsky.social, Elias Dinas & @dziblatt.bsky.social

#OpenAccess
BJPolS abstract discussing the dynamics of mainstream and radical political rhetoric regarding anti-immigrant policies, highlighting differences in societal responses and enforcement norms based on the source of the rhetoric.
August 11, 2025 at 8:45 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
You've really expressed it well. What's particularly worrying to me is that there's no public or political debate about this whatsoever in Switzerland. To be honest, I think people don't even know
August 11, 2025 at 7:22 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Well put, liebe Olga! Ganz gutes Tagwek für Dich!
August 11, 2025 at 5:37 AM

Reposted by Switzerland, Jonathan Hopkin

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
In Switzerland, 27.3% of minors have no Swiss citizenship, the second-highest rate in Europe after Luxembourg.

It’s another reminder that Switzerland is among the most exclusive democracies: not only does it attract many migrants, but it also includes them into political life only slowly, if at all
August 10, 2025 at 8:51 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Ezra Klein & D. Thompson: „We have a startling abundance of the goods that fill a house and a shortage of what‘s needed to build a good life: housing, transportation, energy, health. Scarcity is a choice. We call for a correction. We believe what we can build is more important than what we can buy“
August 10, 2025 at 7:10 PM

Reposted by Switzerland, Frank C. Thames

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Trump ‘s tarrifs are backfiring – even in rural Republican heartlands and in key battleground states.

So much for „but his voters want this“

They don‘t.
August 10, 2025 at 5:43 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Indeed!
August 9, 2025 at 5:33 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
And the VV!
August 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Very true! I also like the „Aben“ construct 🤭
August 9, 2025 at 9:05 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Fair point!
August 9, 2025 at 8:51 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
(Selbst) dem würden die Berntreuen wohl widersprechen à la "was ist das für eine Linie im Norden?" 😆
August 9, 2025 at 7:52 AM

Reposted by Christian Fisch

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Altman / OpenAI: "GPT-5 is the first time that it really feels like talking to an expert in any topic, like a PhD-level expert"

Prompt: "Erstelle eine Karte von der Schweiz, bei der Du alle Kantone benennst"

It is not necessary to have a #Doktortitel in Swiss federalism to judge the result:
August 9, 2025 at 7:08 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Ja, wir erinnern uns alle an einen früheren Kommentar, wonach Harris "aussenpolitisch das grössere Risiko für die Schweiz ist als Trump". Dennoch bin ich persönlich dankbar, wenn alle Leute mit öffentlicher Diskurs- und Deutungsmacht bereit sind, zu lernen und zu ihren Fehleinschätzungen zu stehen
August 9, 2025 at 6:59 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Beautiful, truly moving. Thank you so much for sharing!
August 8, 2025 at 8:07 PM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
I've grown up in a pubilc discourse dominated by the far-right that frames European integration exclusively as loss of sovereignty.

But now, in the wake of Trump's 39% tariff bombshell, even the NZZ acknowledges: Similar non-EU countries long demonstrate that meaningful decision-shaping is possible
August 8, 2025 at 7:03 AM

rfrbrghs.bsky.social
So happy to meet you again on this platform, Gerry! Fond memories of your class!
August 7, 2025 at 8:02 PM

Reposted by Switzerland, David M. Farrell, Ruth Dassonneville , and 15 more

arminschaefer.bsky.social
I am looking for a PhD student in Comparative Politics @powimz.bsky.social. My research focuses on political (in-)equality, representation, and responsiveness. I would be grateful if you could help to spread the word.
stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de#/jgu/job/49637
stellenboerse.uni-mainz.de
August 7, 2025 at 8:11 AM