Switzerland's National Identity

National Identity

              What is national identity? If one were to lookup the definition of national identity in the Oxford Dictionary, they would see that the dictionary defines national identity as “a sense of a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language,” (en.oxforddictionaries.com). Anna Triandafyllidou, a professor at the European University Institute, writes that national identity comes from the existence of other nations that are different then one’s nation. She defines this as the Other and writes “The notion of the other is inherent in the nationalist doctrine itself. For nationalists, the existence of their own nation presupposes the existence of other nations,” (Triandafyllidou, 594). Triandafyllidou is essentially saying that national identity exists because there are other nations that are different which she defines as the Other.

National Identity and Switzerland

              Now that national identity and the Other have been defined, those definitions can now be applied to Switzerland. But before the definitions are applied to Switzerland, an understanding of the history of Switzerland will be useful. Switzerland didn’t become an official nation until 1948 but the signing of the Federal Charter in 1291 was a huge step towards the formation of the confederacy. The signing of this charter was very important to the formation of Switzerland because it united three cantons together. The charter was agreement that the three cantons would come together and defend each other from the Habsburg Empire (Pauchard). This day was so important that it is now a national holiday in Switzerland. Oliver Pauchard, a Swiss journalist and Thomas Stephens, a British journalist both write in an article for Swissinfo that the signing of the Federal Charter was not as accurate as Swiss nationals think it is. Pauchard and Stephens interview author Georges Andrey, who says that there is no evidence that the Federal Charter of 1291 was signed on August 1^st, 1291. Andrey claims that there is evidence that the charter was signed in the beginning of August but not a specific date. Andrey says that the Swiss needed a national holiday so they used this charter as the pretext to create that national holiday. How does this relate to national identity? The Swiss government did not want many historians to question the validity of its national holiday because they wanted the world to believe that Switzerland was founded on August 1^st, 1291. Historian Stefan Berger writes in his article titled “On the Role of Myths and history in the Construction of National Identity in Modern Europe,” about historians who mix in myth with their history. Berger argues that some countries want parts of their history highlighted while others to be suppressed. This applies perfectly to Switzerland as they do not want the fact that their national holiday may not be on the correct date. This is just one example of Switzerland’s national identity coming from the historical perspective.

Switzerland Political Structure

              Switzerland’s unique political structure contributes to its national identity. Unlike many other western republics, Switzerland does not have one primary leader in their executive branch. Switzerland’s executive branch consists of seven members who form the Federal Council. The seven seats are split evenly among the four national parties in Switzerland. According to historian Venelin Tsachevsky, any changes that are to be made by the government must be voted on by the citizens of Switzerland and classifies Switzerland as a referendum democracy. This form of democracy relates to the national identity of Switzerland because the way Switzerland run’s their democracy is very different than the way most other western republics run theirs. Whenever Switzerland wants to make a change, they must keep in mind what the people of Switzerland would want as they have the final say on whether the change can happen or not. Historian L.P Feld gives an example about how the Swiss people had intense arguments on whether Switzerland should abolish their army or not (Feld, 288). This initiative was ultimately rejected but is a good example of how everyone in Switzerland had a say on what they wanted.  This is an example of Switzerland’s national identity is because it shows how the Swiss people have a direct say on every change the government wants to make.

Languages in Switzerland

              There are four national languages in Switzerland: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. Language is a large part of national identity as the languages spoken in any country helps define the people and who they are. Historian Oliver Zimmer writes in his article that the “legitimacy of ethnic nationhood,” rests on the contrast of a common language, religion, shared historical experiences, or genealogical descent (Zimmer, 176). The primary language that is spoken in Switzerland is German. French and Italian are spoken more near the borders of Switzerland as France and Italy both border Switzerland. Romansh is a native language that is spoken in a few remote areas in Switzerland. According to the journalist John Tagliabue, is spoken by 2.2 percent of people in Switzerland and many people who speak Romansh are also fluent in German. Tagliabue goes on to write that Romansh was regarded as “thee patois of the poor country yokel,” (Tagliabue). The people who speak Romansh, are considered a minority so they help make up the Other in Switzerland. The people who speak Romansh help create Switzerland’s national identity because they are a minority so they bring out the significance of the dominant languages.

Religion in Switzerland

              The dominant religion in Switzerland is Roman Catholic which makes up 42 percent of the population. There is a small minority of Muslims who make up 4 percent of the population. This minority is another example of the Other. Because there is a Muslim minority, they challenge the dominant religion thus creating a national identity for Switzerland. In 2009, the Swiss government proposed a plan to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland. A minaret is an Arabic lighthouse which is a place that Muslims go to pray at. In an article published by Amnesty International, Switzerland would break their freedom of religion obligations if they passed such a ban. If this ban were to pass, it would change Switzerland’s national identity because at that point, Switzerland does not have an official religion but the passing of this ban would show the world that Switzerland is predominantly Roman Catholic.

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Works Cited

Berger, Stefan. "On the Role of Myths and History in the Construction of National Identity in Modern Europe." European History Quarterly 39.3 (2009): 490-502. Web.

Church, Clive H., and Randolph C. Head. A Concise History of Switzerland. N.p.: n.p., 2013. Print.

"Demographics of Switzerland." MECOMeter - Macro Economy Meter. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

Demont-Heinrich, Christof. "Language and National Identity in the Era of Globalization: The Case of English in Switzerland." Journal of Communication Inquiry 29.1 (2005): 66-84. Web.

Feld, Lars P., and Gebhard Kirchgässner. "Direct Democracy, Political Culture, and the Outcome of Economic Policy: A Report on the Swiss Experience." European Journal of Political Economy 16.2 (2000): 287-306. Web.

Mottier, Véronique. "Narratives of Identity and Place." (2009): n. pag. European Consortium for Political Research Annual Joint Sessions, Mar. 1999. Web. 2 Feb. 2017.

Slater, Julia. "Switzerland's Fourth Language under Pressure." SWI Swissinfo.ch. Swissinfo.ch, 05 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

Stephens, Thomas. "Historians Question Federal Charter." SWI Swissinfo.ch. N.p., 02 Aug. 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

"Switzerland Minaret Ban Would Breach Freedom of Religion Obligations." Switzerland Minaret Ban Would Breach Freedom of Religion Obligations. Amnesty International, 25 Nov. 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

Tagliabue, John. "In Multilingual Switzerland, One Tongue Struggles." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

Triandafyllidou, Anna. "National Identity and the 'other'." Ethnic and Racial Studies 21.4 (1998): 593-612. Print.

Tsachevsky, Venelin. Europäisierung Des Gewaltmonopols : Swiss Model - Power of Democracy. Bern: Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften, 2014. Print.

Zimmer, Oliver. "Boundary Mechanisms and Symbolic Resources: Towards a Process-oriented Approach to National Identity*." Nations and Nationalism 9.2 (2003): 173-93. Web.