DIRECT DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF POPULISM IN SWITZERLAND

Year 2021, Issue: 2, 21 - 37, 31.08.2021

Khalimat Rachida Benazır

Abstract

Son yıllarda, Avrupa siyasi manzarası, olağan sisteme meydan okuyan partilerin ortaya çıkmasından etkilenmiştir. Gözlemciler bu yeni hareketi “çok sağ”, “sağ kanat siyasi partiler”, “radikal sağ”, “popülizm” veya “ulusal popülizm” gibi kategorileri veya etiketleri kullanarak tanımladılar. Bu çalışma, İsviçre’deki demokrasinin şeklini incelemeyi ve özellikle İsviçre bağlamında popülizm olgusunu anlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Yakın tarihte, “Avrupa’daki en eski demokrasi” tarihinde, 1930’larda faşist ve Nazi diktatörlük rejimlerinden, “aşırı sağ” veya “popülist” hareketlerden ve partilerden oluşan “doğrudan demokrasinin vatanı” dır. Ancak, 1960’larda ve 1970’lerde, gerçek hoşgörüsüzlük belirtileri ortaya çıkmış ve otoriterlik yükselmiştir. Ancak 1990’larda, ulusal kimliğin ve tarafsızlığın savunulması, yabancı korkusu ve yönetici seçkinlerin eleştirilmesi, İsviçre’de siyasi dengelerde önemli değişikler getirecek sosyopolitik olgular haline gelmiştir.

Keywords

doğrudan demokrasi, popülizm, popülist partiler, aşırı sağ, referandum

DIRECT DEMOCRACY AND THE RISE OF POPULISM IN SWITZERLAND

Abstract

In recent years, the European political landscape has been marked by the emergence of parties that defy the usual system, with considerable success. Observers have described this new movement using categories or labels such as “far-right,” “right-wing political parties,” “radical right,” “populism,” or “national populism.” This study aims to scrutinize direct democracy and to understand the phenomenon of populism in the Swiss context. In the recent history of the oldest democracy in Europe, the homeland of direct democracy, spared by fascist and Nazi dictatorial regimes during the 1930s, far-right or populist movements and parties existed. But, it is during the 1960s and 1970s that real signs of intolerance and calls for authoritarianism rise. In the 1990s, however, the defense of national identity and neutrality, the fear of foreigners, and the criticism of the ruling elites became sociopolitical facts in Switzerland that would bring about a remarkable change in political balances.

Keywords

direct democracy, populism, populist parties, far-right, referendum

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