How the European Union Can Strengthen Corporatism.. Outside the EU: New Political Cleavages and Policy Concertation in Switzerland

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of europeanisation on corporatist policy concertation in Switzerland by emphasing the mediating impact of political cleavages. The analysis shows that europeanisation has tended to strengthen policy concertation in labour market issues related to EU-matters, whereas this type of policymaking procedure has tended to fade out in ‘strictly domestic’ social and economic issues in recent years. European integration creates a divide within the Right which prompts employers to collaborate with trade unions in order to gather sufficient political support. By contrast, the Right is mostly united in strictly domestic issues, and therefore does not need to cooperate with trade unions.