Rahel Freiburghaus
@rfrbrghs.bsky.social
Assistant Professor @unil.bsky.social, Switzerland │ Swiss & Comparative Politics, Democracy, Political Institutions, Federalism, (Intergovernmental) Lobbying │ Also @leewas.bsky.social @chplusplus.bsky.social │Views my own
Reposted by Rahel Freiburghaus
#POLITKOLUMNE: Switzerland’s playbook with autocrats incl Trump & R/U.Z has long been the same: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist. Domestic systems with fragmented decision-making are less willing to impose sanctions & tools that could keep autocrats in check www.derbund.ch/autokraten-u...
August 18, 2025 at 5:51 AM
#POLITKOLUMNE: Switzerland’s playbook with autocrats incl Trump & R/U.Z has long been the same: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist. Domestic systems with fragmented decision-making are less willing to impose sanctions & tools that could keep autocrats in check www.derbund.ch/autokraten-u...
bsky.app/profile/rfrb... Here is an op-ed we did on Switzerland‘s playbook with autocrats: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist
#POLITKOLUMNE: Switzerland’s playbook with autocrats incl Trump & R/U.Z has long been the same: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist. Domestic systems with fragmented decision-making are less willing to impose sanctions & tools that could keep autocrats in check www.derbund.ch/autokraten-u...
November 16, 2025 at 3:06 PM
bsky.app/profile/rfrb... Here is an op-ed we did on Switzerland‘s playbook with autocrats: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist
Some weeks ago, we did a short op-ed on why this sort of approaching foreign policy has been, for a long time, embedded into Switzerland's playbook with autocrats: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist, as we have put it there bsky.app/profile/rfrb...
#POLITKOLUMNE: Switzerland’s playbook with autocrats incl Trump & R/U.Z has long been the same: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist. Domestic systems with fragmented decision-making are less willing to impose sanctions & tools that could keep autocrats in check www.derbund.ch/autokraten-u...
November 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Some weeks ago, we did a short op-ed on why this sort of approaching foreign policy has been, for a long time, embedded into Switzerland's playbook with autocrats: kiss, cooperate, cash in, and rarely resist, as we have put it there bsky.app/profile/rfrb...
It’s rather rare for US media to report on Switzerland. But after the tariff deal (from 39 to 15%), they’re outspoken: „How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold, gab“
Domestically, however, the govt member from the far-right who was responsible for the negotiations is being celebrated
Domestically, however, the govt member from the far-right who was responsible for the negotiations is being celebrated
Forget retaliation: To cut tariffs President Trump imposed on their country, the Swiss sent a delegation of industry tycoons bearing gifts — a special Rolex desktop clock, a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar, and loads of flattery.
November 16, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Rahel Freiburghaus
2/🧵 New piece with @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social in @NewRepublic: We analyzed 60,000+ respondents in the 2024 Cooperative Election Study. Gen Z has the lowest racial resentment of any generation. The generational shift overwhelms the education divide that supposedly defines modern politics.
The Shocking Truth About Gen Z Voters Is That They’re Pretty Great
Stop panicking: They are the most progressive generation ever, especially on race. If that surprises you, you’ve been listening to the wrong story.
newrepublic.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
2/🧵 New piece with @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social in @NewRepublic: We analyzed 60,000+ respondents in the 2024 Cooperative Election Study. Gen Z has the lowest racial resentment of any generation. The generational shift overwhelms the education divide that supposedly defines modern politics.
My interview on SRF1 📺 on the growing heterogeneity between Swiss cantons, and what it means for voters when the richest canton becomes so rich that it can fund e.g. health-care premiums while poorer cantons simply cannot match that www.srf.ch/play/tv/redi... @unil.bsky.social @sspunil.bsky.social
Nationale Föderalismuskonferenz in Zug - Schweiz aktuell - Play SRF
Funktioniert der faire Kantonswettbewerb oder braucht es einen besseren Finanzausgleich? An der diesjährigen Nationalen Föderalismuskonferenz ist der reichste Kanton Zug Gastgeber.
www.srf.ch
November 15, 2025 at 8:08 AM
My interview on SRF1 📺 on the growing heterogeneity between Swiss cantons, and what it means for voters when the richest canton becomes so rich that it can fund e.g. health-care premiums while poorer cantons simply cannot match that www.srf.ch/play/tv/redi... @unil.bsky.social @sspunil.bsky.social
Many opponents of the new EU–Switzerland deal claim that Swiss institutions like federalism or direct democracy are “incompatible” with closer cooperation with the EU.
Yet as one local govt member put it:
“The biggest threat to our autonomy comes from the cantons (states) — not from the EU.”
Yet as one local govt member put it:
“The biggest threat to our autonomy comes from the cantons (states) — not from the EU.”
November 14, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Many opponents of the new EU–Switzerland deal claim that Swiss institutions like federalism or direct democracy are “incompatible” with closer cooperation with the EU.
Yet as one local govt member put it:
“The biggest threat to our autonomy comes from the cantons (states) — not from the EU.”
Yet as one local govt member put it:
“The biggest threat to our autonomy comes from the cantons (states) — not from the EU.”
▪️How can we ensure that local govts aren’t preempted by the cantons or the federation?
▪️How to safeguard the cantons’ say in federal policymaking?
▪️What to do when one canton has 16k inhabitants &another 1.6m, yet both have the same duties, including when it comes to implementing federal policies?
▪️How to safeguard the cantons’ say in federal policymaking?
▪️What to do when one canton has 16k inhabitants &another 1.6m, yet both have the same duties, including when it comes to implementing federal policies?
November 13, 2025 at 7:28 AM
▪️How can we ensure that local govts aren’t preempted by the cantons or the federation?
▪️How to safeguard the cantons’ say in federal policymaking?
▪️What to do when one canton has 16k inhabitants &another 1.6m, yet both have the same duties, including when it comes to implementing federal policies?
▪️How to safeguard the cantons’ say in federal policymaking?
▪️What to do when one canton has 16k inhabitants &another 1.6m, yet both have the same duties, including when it comes to implementing federal policies?
Das freut mich sehr, danke fürs Interesse! Und gutes Tagwerk!
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Das freut mich sehr, danke fürs Interesse! Und gutes Tagwerk!
Nun ist das von @cellmob.bsky.social moderierte Gespräch "Ist die Demokratie noch zu retten?" von Adrian Vatter & mir auch im "Gesprächsstoff"-Podcast von Bund/BZ verfügbar. Abermals herzlichen Dank für den so lieben Post & fürs Interesse! www.derbund.ch/live-gesprae... cc @ingrid1.bsky.social
Live-Gespräch als Podcast: «Für mich ist ein Abstimmungssonntag wie ein vorgezogener ‹Tatort›»
Am Dienstagabend diskutierte Berns Polit-Duo Adrian Vatter und Rahel Freiburghaus im Bierhübeli über autokratische Gefahren und föderalistische Grenzen.
www.derbund.ch
November 12, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Nun ist das von @cellmob.bsky.social moderierte Gespräch "Ist die Demokratie noch zu retten?" von Adrian Vatter & mir auch im "Gesprächsstoff"-Podcast von Bund/BZ verfügbar. Abermals herzlichen Dank für den so lieben Post & fürs Interesse! www.derbund.ch/live-gesprae... cc @ingrid1.bsky.social
WIR haben zu danken, lieber Marcello! Der Abend wird für uns unvergesslich bleiben!
November 12, 2025 at 7:54 AM
WIR haben zu danken, lieber Marcello! Der Abend wird für uns unvergesslich bleiben!
Switzerland is close to securing a 15% tariff deal on its exports to the US, which would be a relief after being hit with a 39% bombshell in August.
Source: Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Source: Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Switzerland Moves Close to Securing Improved 15% US Tariff Deal
Switzerland is close to securing a 15% tariff on its exports to the US, in what would be a relief for the country after it was hit with a punishing 39% levy in August, according to people familiar wit...
www.bloomberg.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Switzerland is close to securing a 15% tariff deal on its exports to the US, which would be a relief after being hit with a 39% bombshell in August.
Source: Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Source: Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Rahel Freiburghaus
#POLITKOLUMNE: Disinformation remains one of the most underestimated threats to democracy.
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
November 10, 2025 at 6:39 AM
#POLITKOLUMNE: Disinformation remains one of the most underestimated threats to democracy.
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
#POLITKOLUMNE: Disinformation remains one of the most underestimated threats to democracy.
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
November 10, 2025 at 6:39 AM
#POLITKOLUMNE: Disinformation remains one of the most underestimated threats to democracy.
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
But there is something we can do: a simple program (4x90min) by @priyadarshi-amar.bsky.social has proven highly effective in strengthening information and media literacy www.derbund.ch/desinformati...
However, for now, the #Abstimmungsschablone (stencil) will be available only for voters in the canton of Zurich. Still an IMO important step towards democratizing (direct) democracy.
More information and source of the pictures: www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/p... polisky
More information and source of the pictures: www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/p... polisky
Abstimmungsschablone
www.bk.admin.ch
November 9, 2025 at 7:33 AM
However, for now, the #Abstimmungsschablone (stencil) will be available only for voters in the canton of Zurich. Still an IMO important step towards democratizing (direct) democracy.
More information and source of the pictures: www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/p... polisky
More information and source of the pictures: www.bk.admin.ch/bk/de/home/p... polisky