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TIES THAT BINDTIES THAT BINDA Case Study of A Case Study of
SwitzerlandSwitzerland
You will learn…You will learn…
• Factors that promote harmony Factors that promote harmony and unity in Switzerlandand unity in Switzerland
• Benefits of living together in Benefits of living together in peacepeace
• Some lessons that we can Some lessons that we can learn from the Swisslearn from the Swiss
Having seen the Having seen the ravages of racial ravages of racial strife in Sri Lanka strife in Sri Lanka …...…...
And the And the religious religious conflicts of conflicts of Northern Northern Ireland Ireland …….…….
Let us look at SwitzerlandLet us look at Switzerland
• Small country in Western Europe• Its people came from Germany, France
and Italy• Came via various routes through the
Swiss Alps SWITZERLAND’S MOUNTAIN RANGESWITZERLAND’S MOUNTAIN RANGE
• These routes/passes enable people from Italy to travel to France and Germany
• As a result, its neighbours have tried to conquer it from time to time
Language DifferencesLanguage Differences
• Four nationalnational languages : German, French, Italian and Romansh (a form of Latin)
• OfficialOfficial languages are German, French and Italian
• Why is Romansh left out?• Too many Romansh dialects – difficult to
choose one to represent the official Romansh language
Language DifferencesLanguage Differences
• Switzerland divided into 4 regions along linguistic lines (pg 71)
• The language of a respective linguistic region will be the language used in schools, official public matters (communication within govt depts)– German-speaking Swiss move from Zurich (G) to
Geneva (F) or to Lugano (I), he will have to change the language he uses for all official matters
[Note : G – German-speaking; F – French-speaking;I – Italian-speaking]
Language DifferencesLanguage Differences
• Switzerland divided into 4 regions acording to language
• Politically, it is divided into 26 cantons or states
• Each canton is subdivided into communes and towns
• About 3,000 communes in Switzerland
CommuneCommune
• A group of people living in a small area• It is the “grassroot” level of government
administration• It is here that much of the daily decision-
making in society is done• The Swiss feel they have a direct stake
in, and considerable responsibility for, the commune that they live in
G –Swiss vs F-SwissG –Swiss vs F-Swiss
• In the past, relations between In the past, relations between language groups were tenselanguage groups were tense
• Eg early 20Eg early 20thth C, G-Swiss and F-Swiss C, G-Swiss and F-Swiss were hostile towards each otherwere hostile towards each other
• WWI : Germany and France were at WWI : Germany and France were at warwar
• F-Swiss supported France and G-F-Swiss supported France and G-Swiss supported GermanySwiss supported Germany
• Tension deepenedTension deepened
G –Swiss vs F-SwissG –Swiss vs F-Swiss
• WWII WWII : Swiss Govt announced : Swiss Govt announced policy of neutrality – by all means policy of neutrality – by all means and under all circumstancesand under all circumstances
• Means that Switzerland will not Means that Switzerland will not start a war itself or interfere in start a war itself or interfere in an existing waran existing war
• Neutrality a core policy pursued Neutrality a core policy pursued by Swiss for many yearsby Swiss for many years
G –Swiss vs F-SwissG –Swiss vs F-Swiss
• Because of this policy – G and F-Because of this policy – G and F-Swiss realised they could not side Swiss realised they could not side with Germany or Francewith Germany or France
• They stood united to defend They stood united to defend Switzerland even though France Switzerland even though France and Germany were at warand Germany were at war
• This is believed to be one main This is believed to be one main reason why Switzerland was not reason why Switzerland was not invaded by Germanyinvaded by Germany
Language Issues TodayLanguage Issues Today
• Historically, Switzerland opened to foreigners and refugees
• In the past, these were from European countries• Today, influx from non-European countries• Bring their own skills and talents but unable to
speak any of the national languages• English has been used to overcome this problem
in recent years• Widely spoken in Geneva and Zurich• English a popular language today – influence of
tourism, television, science and technology
Religious differencesReligious differences
• Most Swiss – Catholic or Protestant• 16th to 18th C : Differences between them
frequently disturbed the peace in Switzerland– Protestants cantons accepted only Protestants as
citizens; same for Catholics– Fought each other in bloody civil wars during these 3
centuries– 1797 : Napoleon Bonaparte, the French dictator,
exploited one of these battles to conquer Switzerland– Last conflict occurred in 1847– After this war, the Constitution was drawn up to
guarantee religious rights of all Swiss among other issues
Religious differencesReligious differences
• This largely settled the religious conflict• There had been much religious conflicts
between the Protestants and the Catholics but not serious enough to break-up the country
• Compared with SL and NI, how is Switzerland different?
• Swiss had much conflicts but today, they still live in peace, unity and harmony
• Let’s examine some of the favourable factors accounting for this harmony and unity
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