THE INTERACTION BETWEEN DIRECT AND REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN SWITZERLAND

Abstract

Theoretical debates about direct and representative democracy tend to be based on unrealistic assumptions about how direct democracy – and sometimes how representative democracy – works. This article explores the interaction between direct and representative democracy in Switzerland, where direct democracy is an essential part of everyday politics. We show that the key actors of the representative system – governments, parliaments and parties – play a central role in the direct democratic process too. Political actors adapt to the direct democratic challenge and manage to control the direct democratic process to a great extent. Looking at the possible effects of direct democracy on the representative system, we show that direct democracy does not necessarily weaken parties; direct democracy in combination with the relative strength of the different parties is responsible for the oversized coalition government that exists in Switzerland since 1959 and that policy‐making becomes less predictable for the political elites. However there are arguments that single policies tend to be more in favour of the median voter than in a pure representative system.