SWITZERLAND: Scaling the Heights...
Student Text Page No. 2: "Within Its Region"

Perhaps the treaty in 1291 was settled with a handshake. Maybe some other ritual was used. Historians aren't even sure of the exact day when the leaders of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed their mutual-defense pact. Nevertheless, Switzerland (whose name is derived from Schwyz) celebrates that alliance as the first step in its formation as a nation.

Situated on a grassy plateau north of the Alps mountains, Uri and its neighbors were trying to cope with changing times. Not far away, other Europeans were fighting over the expansion of Austria's Habsburg empire. The three neighbors wanted to be ready, if the conflict moved in their direction. After all, their plateau formed a strategic crossroads between east and west Europe, and between its north and south. It was a place any empire would want to control.

Growth policies. The new alliance soon proved itself. In 1315, an army of Swiss peasants successfully defended their land against a large Austrian force. Others joined the trio, and, by 1515, Switzerland was a loose federation of 13 regions and city-states. Its armies had defeated French and Italian forces, too — and acquired territory in the process. Yet, in that year, the federation declared a new policy — neutrality.
     Here's why: As a result of its expansion, Switzerland now had a diverse population. Its people retained languages and customs that linked them to the French, Italians, Germans, and other neighbors. So, any future war against those neighbors could lead to conflict within the alliance — maybe even split it! Neutrality seemed wiser.

Big choices. Only once did that policy fail to protect the Swiss. In 1798, France invaded Switzerland and replaced its federation with a strong central government. The Swiss protested vehemently, and in 1815 European leaders at the Council of Vienna restored the federation (by then up to 22 regions, or "cantons"). The Treaty of Paris also recognized Switzerland's right to be an armed and neutral nation for all time.
     "Federalists" in Switzerland welcomed the Council's decision, since it restored power to the cantons. But "centrists" argued that having a single, unifying government might be a good idea, since it could ease conditions for industries coping with differing currencies and laws in the cantons. The opponents compromised. In 1848, Switzerland became a federal republic, the Swiss Confederation, in which the cantons retained much power.

Democracy. Thus, the Swiss federal government has the constitutional powers one associates with any nation: to maintain an army, establish a national currency (franc), collect taxes, make foreign policy, etc. And the cantons reserve the right to deal with all other matters not assigned to the federal level. Basic human rights are also protected. But what makes Swiss democracy truly unique is the power its citizens have. Example: With only 50,000 signatures, Swiss citizens can demand that a law already passed by the federal parliament be submitted to a nationwide, Yes-No vote (a referendum)!

Key Questions. Today, Switzerland is a high-tech, urban society with a strong democracy and a policy of neutrality that has survived the test of two world wars. Ironically, the European Union (the EU, which Switzerland has not joined) is now coping with many issues that the Swiss resolved in the 1800s — getting member states to share power, switching to a single currency (in the EU's case, the euro). And that leads the Swiss to wonder: How would joining the EU help Switzerland? Perhaps the real question is an old one: What's the best way for a landlocked country to relate to its neighbors? Read all you can about Switzerland, and use a good source to check the facts.
     Suggestion: "Switzerland." World Book Encyclopedia. 2003.