I don't know how it goes in actual practice there, but looking at their written Constitution doesn't inspire confidence. It suffers from the same defects I mentioned in article, asserting that the Cantons are Sovereign, but that the Confederation is also Sovereign; and it doesn't seem to provide any true fail-safes against abuse, especially in that lot of it is written in a very vague and equivocal language that just seems to invite manipulation and dispute. On the one hand, they do seem to take the idea of enumerated powers, according to which governments can do only what the Constitution explicitly allows them to do, very seriously in that country. On the other hand, though, it shows up the limitations of trying to positively define it all in writing in the space of a single document. In its >29,000 words, this Constitution covers an awful lot of subjects, and in an awful lot of detail- subjects that, in any other country would be regarded as matters of policy for the acting government to decide, or for the Supreme Court to decide in particular cases, on the basis of general legislative and police powers, or judicial power. Many of its provisions are obvious pandering to special-interest groups, public opinion, and ideological fads and fashions, rife with buzzwords like "food security" and "sustainable energy"; many among them are clearly unenforceable (e.g. Art. 41); much of it reads more like a corporate mission statement than the basic law of a serious country, suggesting its framers weren't truly serious Statesmen.
Judging by brief look at their constitution that's very true. It's also very young, younger than constitution of Czechia that was written in 1992 and is thus linked to emergence of the new republic in 1993. While Switzerland seems to be doing just fine their constitution can't be said it withstood the test of time. As a small European country it is less prone to crisis from within than the U.S. and due to other circumstances it is probably not the final proof that federation is working.
Can Switzerland be a case of federalism done right?
I don't know how it goes in actual practice there, but looking at their written Constitution doesn't inspire confidence. It suffers from the same defects I mentioned in article, asserting that the Cantons are Sovereign, but that the Confederation is also Sovereign; and it doesn't seem to provide any true fail-safes against abuse, especially in that lot of it is written in a very vague and equivocal language that just seems to invite manipulation and dispute. On the one hand, they do seem to take the idea of enumerated powers, according to which governments can do only what the Constitution explicitly allows them to do, very seriously in that country. On the other hand, though, it shows up the limitations of trying to positively define it all in writing in the space of a single document. In its >29,000 words, this Constitution covers an awful lot of subjects, and in an awful lot of detail- subjects that, in any other country would be regarded as matters of policy for the acting government to decide, or for the Supreme Court to decide in particular cases, on the basis of general legislative and police powers, or judicial power. Many of its provisions are obvious pandering to special-interest groups, public opinion, and ideological fads and fashions, rife with buzzwords like "food security" and "sustainable energy"; many among them are clearly unenforceable (e.g. Art. 41); much of it reads more like a corporate mission statement than the basic law of a serious country, suggesting its framers weren't truly serious Statesmen.
Judging by brief look at their constitution that's very true. It's also very young, younger than constitution of Czechia that was written in 1992 and is thus linked to emergence of the new republic in 1993. While Switzerland seems to be doing just fine their constitution can't be said it withstood the test of time. As a small European country it is less prone to crisis from within than the U.S. and due to other circumstances it is probably not the final proof that federation is working.
Hi Mr. Vien. Are you still translating rest of the five volumns of Restoration?
It seems doubtful, unless a lot more people get interested in Haller. We'll see what happens.