Exit from Brexit? Not likely but uncertainty prevails. EPC Commentary, 12 July 2016

Theresa May, who is set to become UK Prime Minister on Wednesday, has made it clear that “Brexit means Brexit”. Stating this so bluntly has become necessary as a number of voices have speculated that there may be a way back from the brink, claiming that the result of the referendum is not very decisive and that citizens have been misled by the lies of the Brexit campaign, not realising the magnitude of the decision. There certainly seems a wish in the Chancellery in Berlin and in some other capitals that Britain can be kept in, accompanied by a willingness to table compromises to smooth the process.

The need to re-engage Europe's youth. EPC Commentary, 18 July 2016

In the immediate aftermath of the UK EU referendum, the breakdown of results sparked talks of a generational conflict, with young people – who voted overwhelmingly to remain - being blamed for having brought Brexit on themselves with their dismally low 36% turnout. New data compiled by the London School of Economics reduces the grounds for these accusations, suggesting a 64% turnout for 18-24 year olds. While this is certainly positive, the problem of youth disengagement lingers as the 64% turnout of those aged 18-24 has to be weighed against a 90% turnout of those aged 65+. This should not come as a surprise as Britain generally has the lowest youth turnout in Europe and the last referendum confirmed a trend that is not at all new, neither in Britain nor in other European countries.

Verkehr und Kommunikation

Die Vorlage zu Finanzierung und Ausbau der Bahninfrastruktur (FABI) wurde in der Volksabstimmung angenommen. - Die «Milchkuh-Initiative» kam zustande. - Beide Parlamentskammern sprachen sich für den Bau einer zweiten Gotthardröhre aus, das Referendum dagegen wurde ergriffen. - Das Parlament beschloss, den Zahlungsrahmen für die Förderung des alpenquerenden Schienengüterverkehrs um fünf Jahre zu verlängern. - Der Streit zwischen Frankreich und der Schweiz um die Besteuerung des Schweizer Sektors im Euroairport Basel-Mulhouse ging in eine neue Runde. - Die Swiss sah sich einer verschärften Konkurrenz ausgesetzt.

Medien

Aufgrund noch ungewissen Ausgangs des tiefgreifenden Strukturwandels in der Medienlandschaft plädierte der Bundesrat in seinem Bericht zur Sicherung der staats- und demokratiepolitischen Funktionen der Medien, keine überstürzten Massnahmen zu ergreifen. - Der Bundesrat wird mit Annahme eines Postulats beauftragt, einen Bericht zu den Service-Public-Leistungen der SRG zu erstellen. - Nach etlichen Stunden Diskussion stimmten die Kammern in ihren Schlussabstimmungen der RTVG-Revision zu, die die Billag-Gebühr für Private und Unternehmen mit einem Jahresumsatz über CHF 500'000 zur generellen Abgabe erhob; der Gewerbeverband ergriff das Referendum. - Der Verkauf von "Le Temps" an Ringier sowie die Erwägung von Markus Somm als möglicher Nachfolger von NZZ-Chefredaktor Markus Spillmann führten dazu, dass in der breiten Öffentlichkeit gleich bei zwei überregionalen Schweizer Qualitätszeitungen Diskussionen zur redaktionellen Unabhängigkeit geführt wurden.

Die Gesetzgebung in den Kantonen

Nachfolgend beschreiben wir kurz und thematisch geordnet jene Vorlagen, die im Berichtsjahr an der Urne erfolgreich waren. Als "erfolgreich" bezeichnen wir aufgrund obligatorischem oder fakultativem Referendum zur Abstimmung gelangte Behördenvorlagen, die von der Stimmbevölkerung abgelehnt wurden, sowie angenommene Volksinitiativen und Volksvorschläge in Form eines konstruktiven Referendums

Reactive, Slow and...Innovative? Decision-making Structures and Policy Outputs

Consensus democracies like Switzerland are generally known to have a low innovation capacity (Lijphart 1999). This is due to the high number of veto points such as perfect bicameralism or the popular referendum. These institutions provide actors opposing a policy with several opportunities to block potential policy change (Immergut 1990; Tsebelis 2002). In order to avoid a failure of a process because opposing actors activate veto points, decision-making processes in Switzerland tend to integrate a large number of actors with different - and often diverging - preferences (Kriesi and Trechsel 2008). Including a variety of actors in a decision-making process and taking into account their preferences implies important trade-offs. Integrating a large number of actors and accommodating their preferences takes time and carries the risk of resulting in lowest common denominator solutions. On the contrary, major innovative reforms usually fail or come only as a result of strong external pressures from either the international environment, economic turmoil or the public (Kriesi 1980: 635f.; Kriesi and Trechsel 2008; Sciarini 1994). Standard decision-making processes are therefore characterized as reactive, slow and capable of only marginal adjustments (Kriesi 1980; Kriesi and Trechsel 2008; Linder 2009; Sciarini 2006). This, in turn, may be at odds with the rapid developments of international politics, the flexibility of the private sector, or the speed of technological development.

Le comté de Clermont en Beauvoisis; études pour servir à son histoire.

Vol.[1] is reprinted from Bulletin de la Société académique de l'Oise, t.15, 1.ptie.

Proportional representation,

Mode of access: Internet.

The democracy of the Constitution, and other addresses and essays,

The Public opinion bill.--The Constitution and its makers.--The compulsory initiative and referendum, and the recall of judges.--The Constitution and the Bill of rights.--The democracy of Abraham Lincoln.--John C. Calhoun.--Thomas Brackett Reed.--An American myth.--As to anthologies.--The origin of certain Americanisms.--Diversions of a convalescent.

The people's law;

Mode of access: Internet.

Puerto Rico's political status : hearings before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, first session on S. 712 ...

"April 26, 1990"--Pt. 2.

The revision of the state constitution.

--pt. II. City and county government: Home rule for cities, by H. L. McBain. A proposal for a revision of the municipal article, by L. A. Tanzer. Local government and the state constitution, by M. H. Glynn. The city and the state constitution, by J. P. Mitchel. The organization of county government, by G. S. Buck. Regulation of economic and social conditions: Constitutional limitations on governmental powers, by S. McC. Lindsay. The future of the workmen's compensation amendment, by T. I. Parkinson. Labor legislation, by A. I. Elkus. State policy of forest and water-power conservation, by J. G. Agar. Public service commissions and the state constitution, by J. N. Carlisle. Charitable and correctional institutions and public health, by H. Folks. The Constitution and public franchises, by D. F. Wilcox. Report of the meeting.

Political status of Puerto Rico : hearings before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, first session, on S. 710, S. 711, and S. 712.

"San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 16, 17, and 19, 1989"--Pt. 2.

[Pamphlets]

no.1 The Railroad question. 1919?--no.2 Labor and reconstruction. 1919?--no.3 Education. 1919?--no.4 Buffer employment, land, housing. 1919?--no.5 New marketing systems, the farmer and reconstruction. 1919?--no.6 International. 1919?--no.7 Popular government. 1919?--no.8 Kent, William. Democracy and efficiency. 1913.--no.9 King, Judson. The state-wide initiative and referendum. 1917.--no.10 Vrooman, C.S. Initiative and referendum in Switzerland. 1913.--no.11 Haynes, J.R. Direct government in California. 1917.--no.12 Lewis, W.D. Recall of judicial decisions in state constitutional question.--no.13 American federation of labor. Executive council. Initiative, referendum and recall. [1913?]--no. 14 Thieme, T.F. A new state constitution for Indiana. 1914?--no.15 Montague, R.W. The Oregon system at work. 1914?--no. 16 Committee to inquire into the status of democracy. [1910?]--no. 17 National popular government league, Washington, D.C. The first year and a look ahead. 1915?--no. 18 Committee to inquire into the status of democracy. The confusion of property with privilege. [1910]--no. 19 United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on privileges and elections. Publicity and control of campaign contributions and disbursements. [1917]--no. 20 Bettman, Alfred and Hale, Swinburne. Do we need more sedition laws? [1902]--no. 21 Johnson, L.J. The preferential ballot as a substitute for the direct primary. 1915.