Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T05:20:57.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Direct Democracy and Minority Rights: Direct and Indirect Effects on Religious Minorities in Switzerland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 March 2012

Anna Christmann  and
Deniz Danaci
Anna Christmann*
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
Deniz Danaci*
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Anna Christmann, Centre for Democracy Studies, University of Zurich. E-mail: [email protected]; or Deniz Danaci, Institute of Political Science, University of Zurich. E-mail: [email protected]
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Anna Christmann, Centre for Democracy Studies, University of Zurich. E-mail: [email protected]; or Deniz Danaci, Institute of Political Science, University of Zurich. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Most of the research on the effects of direct democracy on minority rights is empirically limited to the direct effects of direct democracy. This article takes the issue a step further and examines both direct and indirect effects by investigating the rights of religious minorities in Switzerland. The analysis provides two main insights: all direct effects are negative and can be observed when the rights of out-groups like Islamic minorities are at stake. Second, indirect effects on the parliamentary process can be observed, too: parliaments make laws more restrictive toward Islamic minorities if they fear a popular vote. However, they develop strategies to enforce their liberal interests, as shown by the fact that extensions of the rights of religious minorities are passed in total revisions.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , April 2012 , pp. 133 - 160
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Altermatt, Urs, Delgado, Mariano, and Vergauwen, Guido, eds. 2006. Der Islam in Europa. Zwischen Weltpolitik und Alltag (English translation here). Stuttgart, Germany: Kohlhammer.Google Scholar
Baumann, Martin, and Stolz, Jörg, eds. 2007. Eine Schweiz – viele Religionen. Risiken und Chancen des Zusammenlebens (English translation here). Bielefeld: Transcript.Google Scholar
Befani, Barbara, Ledermann, Simone, and Sager, Fritz. 2007. “Realistic Evaluation and QCA: Conceptual Parallels and an Empirical Application.” Evaluation 13:171–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besley, Timothy, and Coate, Stephen. 2008. “Issue Unbundling via Citizens’ Initiatives.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 3:379–397.Google Scholar
Bolliger, Christian. 2007. “Minderheiten in der direkten Demokratie: Die Medaille hat auch eine Vorderseite (English translation here).” In Direkte Demokratie. Bestandesaufnahmen und Wirkungen im internationalen Vergleich, eds. Freitag, Markus, and Wagschal, Uwe, Berlin, Germany: Lit, 419–446.Google Scholar
Bornschier, Simon, and Helbling, Marc. 2005. “Die Konfliktlinie zwischen Öffnung und Abgrenzung (English translation here).” In Der Aufstieg der SVP. Acht Kantone im Vergleich (English translation here), eds. Kriesi, Hanspeter, Lachat, Romain, Selb, Peter, Bornschier, Simon, and Helbling, Marc. Zürich, Switzerland: Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 11–40.Google Scholar
Bowen, John R. 2007. Why the French Don't Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, Marilynn B., and Silver, Michael D.. 2000. “Group Distinctiveness, Social Identification, and Collective Mobilization.” In Self, Identity and Social Movements, eds. Stryker, Sheldon, Owens, Timothy J., and White, Robert W.. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 153–171.Google Scholar
Cattacin, Sandro, Cla Reto Famos, Michael Duttwiler and Hans, Mahnig. 2003. Staat und Religion in der Schweiz: Anerkennungskämpfe, Anerkennungsformen (State and Religion in Switzerland: Recognition fights and reforms. Bern: Federal commission against racism. Bern: Eidgenössische Kommission gegen Rassismus).Google Scholar
Cesari, Jocelyne. 2004. When Islam and Democracy Meet: Muslims in Europe and in the United States. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Christmann, Anna. 2010. “Damoklesschwert Volksabstimmung? Genese von Anerkennungsregeln für Religionsgemeinschaften in den Schweizer Kantonen (English translation here).” Swiss Political Science Review 16:1–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, Sherman J. 1998. “A populist critique of direct democracy.” Harvard Law Review 112:434–482.Google Scholar
Donovan, Todd, and Bowler, Shaun. 1998. “Direct Democracy and Minority Rights: An Extension.” American Journal of Political Science 45:1020–1024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eule, Julian N. 1990. “Judicial Review of Direct Democracy.” Yale Law Journal 99:1503–1590.Google Scholar
Frey, Bruno S., and Goette, Lorenz. 1998. “Does the popular vote destroy civil rights?” American Journal of Political Science 42:1343–1348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamble, Barbara S. 1997. “Putting Civil Rights to a Popular Vote.” American Journal of Political Science 41:245–269.Google Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R. 1996. “Legislative Response to the Threat of Popular Initiatives.” American Journal of Political Science 40:99–128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R., and Hug, Simon. 2001. “Legislative Response to Direct Legislation.” In Referendum Democracy. Citizens, Elites and Deliberation in Referendum Campaigns, eds. Mendelsohn, Matthew, and Parkin, Andrew. New York, NY: Palgrave, 88–108.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L., and Gouws, Amanda. 2000. “Social Identities and Political Intolerance: Linkages within the South African Mass Public.” American Journal of Political Science 44:278–292.Google Scholar
Haider-Markel, Donald P., Querze, Alana, and Lindaman, Kara. 2007. “Lose, Win or Draw? A Reexamination of Direct Democracy and Minority Rights.” Political Research Quarterly 60:304–314.Google Scholar
Helbling, Marc. 2008. Practising Citizenship and Heterogeneous Nationhood. Naturalisations in Swiss Municipalities. Amsterdam, The Netherland: Amsterdam University Press.Google Scholar
Helbling, Marc. 2010. “Islamophobia in Switzerland: A New Phenomenon or a New Name for Xenophobia?” In Value Change in Switzerland, ed. Kriesi, Hanspeter. Lanham, KY: Lexington, 65–80.Google Scholar
Hug, Simon. 2004. “Occurrence and Policy Consequences of Referendums.” Journal of Theoretical Politics 16:321–356.Google Scholar
Kailitz, Steffen. 2006. “Das ideologische Profil rechter (und linker) Flügelparteien in den westeuropäischen Demokratien. Eine Auseinandersetzung mit den Thesen Herbert Kitschelts (English translation here).” In Gefährdungen der Freiheit. Extremistische Ideologien im Vergleich (English translation here), eds. Backes, Uwe, and Jesse, Eckhard. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 283–320.Google Scholar
Kepel, Gilles. 2006. “Der Islam Europas zwischen Integration und Kommunitarismus (English translation here).” In Der Islam in Europa. Zwischen Weltpolitik und Alltag, eds. Altermatt, Urs, Delgado, Mariano, and Vergauwen, Guido. Stuttgart, Germany: Kohlhammer, 23–39.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 1998. The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Kriesi, Hanspeter. 2005. Direct Democratic Choice — The Swiss Experience. Lanham, KY: Lexington Books, Chapter 5.Google Scholar
Kriesi, Hanspeter, Grande, Edgar, Lachat, Romain, Dolezal, Martin, Bornschier, Simon, and Frey, Timotheos. 2008. West European politics in the age of globalization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kriesi, Hanspeter, Lachat, Romain, Selb, Peter, Bornschier, Simon, and Helbling, Marc, eds. 2005. Der Aufstieg der SVP: Acht Kantone im Vergleich (English translation here). Zürich, Switzerland: Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung.Google Scholar
Lachat, Roman. 2008. “Switzerland: Another Case of Transformation Driven by an Established Party.” In West European Politics in the Age of Globalization, eds. Kriesi, Hanspeter, Grande, Edgar, Lachat, Romain, Dolezal, Martin, Bornschier, Simon, and Timotheos, . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 130–153.Google Scholar
Linder, Wolf, Zürcher, Regula, and Bolliger, Christian. 2008. Gespaltene Schweiz - geeinte Schweiz. Gesellschaftlich Spaltungen und Konkordanz be den Volksabstimmungen seit 1874 (English translation here). Baden, Switzerland: hier + jetzt.Google Scholar
Marcus, George E., Sullivan, John L., Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth, and Wood, Sandra L.. 1995. With Malice Toward Some. How People Make Civil Liberties Judgments. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Matsusaka, John G. 2004. For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milic, Thomas. 2008. Idelologie und Stimmverhalten (English translation here). Zürich, Switzerland: Rüegger Verlag.Google Scholar
Niblock, John F. 1993. “Anti-Gay Initiatives: A Call for Heightened Judicial Scrutiny.” UCLA Law Review 41:153–198.Google Scholar
Pahud de Mortanges, René. 1998. “Allgemeine Einführung und Rechtslage in der Schweiz (English translation here).” In Religiöse Minderheiten in der Schweiz und Recht (English translation here). ed. de Mortanges, René Pahud. Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag, 11–26.Google Scholar
Papadopoulos, Yannis. 1998. Démocratie Directe (English translation here). Paris, France: Economica.Google Scholar
Ragin, Charles. 2008. “Qualitative Comparative Analysis Using Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA).” In Configurational Comparative Analysis, eds. Rihoux, Benoît, and Ragin, Charles. New York, NY: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Ranney, Austin. 1978. “United States of America.” In Referendums, eds. Butler, David E, and Ranney, Austin. Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institution for Public Policy Research, 67–86.Google Scholar
Rutz, Gregor A. 2000. “Die öffentlich-rechtliche Anerkennung in der Schweiz: Bestandesaufnahme und Entwicklungstendenzen (English translation here).” In Die Zukunft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Anerkennung von Religionsgemeinschaften (English translation here), eds. de Mortanges, René Pahud, Rutz, Gregor A., and Winzeler, Christoph. Freiburg, Schweiz: Universitätsverlag Freiburg Schweiz, 5–104.Google Scholar
Schneider, Carsten Q., and Wagemann, Claudius. 2007. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) und Fuzzy Sets: Ein Lehrbuch für Anwender und jene, die es werden wollen (English translation here). Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich.Google Scholar
Selb, Peter, Kriesi, Hanspeter, Hänggli, Regula, and Marr, Mirko. 2009. “Partisan Choices in a Direct-Democratic Campaign.” European Political Science Review 1:155–172.Google Scholar
Smith, Alexander T., and Tatalovich, Raymond. 2003. Cultures at War: Moral conflicts in Western Democracies. Ontario: Broadview press.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., and Hagedoorn, Louk. 2007. When Ways of Life Collide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, and Turner, John C.. 1979. “An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict.” In Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, eds. Austin, William G., and Worchel, Stephen. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole, 33–47.Google Scholar
Tolbert, Caroline J., and Smith, Daniel A.. 2006. “Representation and Direct Democracy in the United States.” Representation 42:25–44.Google Scholar
Tullock, Gordon. 1970. “A Simple Algebraic Logrolling Model.” The American Economic Review 60:419–426.Google Scholar
Vatter, Adrian, and Danaci, Deniz. 2010. “Mehrheitstyrannei durch Volksentscheide? Zum Spannungsverhältnis zwischen direkter Demokratie und Minderheitenschutz (English translation here).” Politische Vierteljahresschrift (forthcoming).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weldon, Steven. 2006. “The Institutional Context of Tolerance for Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative, Multilevel Analysis of Western Europe.” American Journal of Political Science 50:331–349.Google Scholar
Widmer, Paul. 2003. Schweizer Aussenpolitik (English translation here). Zürich, Switzerland: Ammann Verlag & Co.Google Scholar