Militia system (Switzerland)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logo year of militia work 2019

The militia system or militia principle refers to the partial aspect (organizational principle) of the political system in Switzerland , according to which public tasks are mostly carried out on a part-time basis. In Swiss participatory democracy , the militia system is a central pillar alongside direct democracy , federalism and concordance . Every citizen can take on public offices and tasks on a part-time or voluntary basis.

definition

The actual militia work is considered a part-time activity for the state ( community ) or the common good (bonum commune). In contrast, volunteer work is done for clubs , cooperatives or the neighborhood. Both are not defined as employment to secure a livelihood, even if small compensation is paid for them. In practice there are many overlaps: the militia system would be inconceivable without the support of countless civil associations and political parties. Among other things, the militia army benefits from off-duty physical training in sports clubs and regular training in shooting clubs, as well as numerous competitive events at regional and national level ( federal festivals ). The militia authorities are largely recruited, organized and trained by the political parties.

Origins of the militia system

Landsgemeinde saber as a symbol of military capability: "Citizen and soldier"

This principle has a long tradition that goes back to the idea of ​​the unity of "citizen and soldier" , which was developed in antiquity . In the Attic democracy and in the early Roman Republic, the term was used to describe the exercise of civil offices. The free and independently able-bodied landowners resolved every single matter in the people's assembly.

The term “militia system”, which is only used in Switzerland and is derived from the Latin militia , refers to the relationship to the vigilante or the people's army, in contrast to the standing army. The expansion to the political area took place during the period of the Ancien Régime . The right to participation in the community went hand in hand with the duty to defend it.

The Swiss militia army goes back to the ranks in the federal locations in the late Middle Ages. The principle «Switzerland has an army. This is basically organized according to the militia principle. " was enshrined in Article 58 of the Federal Constitution in 1999.

Since the 13th century, the idea of ​​militia has been introduced to the population in the federal towns and municipalities, as in the example of the federal letter of 1291 . Understood as a republican identity, militia work is an important pillar of Swiss political culture and is linked to direct democracy. The political roots of the militia system come from the Ancien Régime . At that time, the principle of voluntariness and gratuitousness flowed into cooperative forms of organization and the Christian principle of the duty to provide assistance ( Caritas ) led to the formation of charitable militia organizations.

Swiss early enlightenmentists ( Beat Ludwig von Muralt , Isaac Iselin ) proclaimed courage, thrift, mutual help, trust in one's own judgment and contempt for courtly splendor are necessary republican values ​​to build a national self-image and a Swiss communal republic. In the new cantonal constitutions from 1830, the militia system was transferred to the municipalities and their self-government.

Application of the militia principle

Examples of the Swiss militia concept, an essential characteristic of federalist direct democratic Switzerland, can be found in the public sector:

  • In the cantons and communes, the members of the parliaments, and in smaller communes, the members of the executive also work on a part-time basis; the national parliament is also known as the «militia parliament», but this does not correspond to the facts:

Most of the members in both chambers of the Swiss Parliament ( Council of States and National Council ) as well as in the parliaments at cantonal and communal level have a profession in addition to their council work. These parliaments are commonly referred to as “militia parliaments” in Switzerland, which in reality only applies to the cantonal and communal parliaments. More recent studies show that only a little more than 10% of the members of the National Council spend less than a third of their working time on parliamentary mandate and can therefore be described as “militia parliamentarians” in the narrow sense. This category has now completely disappeared in the Council of States: the majority of members spend more than two thirds of their working time on parliamentary mandate. The national parliament is thus a mixture between part-time and professional parliament.

In the smaller municipalities, most official offices (school maintenance, social services, auditing commission, civil engineering and works commission, building commission, real estate commission, cultural commission, landscape development concept (LEK) commission, election office, etc.) are carried out by militia authorities. With an estimated 100,000 people, one in 50 Swiss voters would be involved in local politics.

The Swiss Army consists of soldiers and officers who have a civilian profession and who are called up for military service on a weekly basis or en bloc for a certain number of years. Switzerland has no standing army. Examples are the former mail pigeon service and the cable car service .

In the local militia fire brigade , everyone is compulsory , regardless of whether they are men or women - Swiss or non-Swiss.

Militia activity in the present

Militia activity is still extensive. However, recruitment is becoming more and more difficult because fewer people are available for militia work, especially if it is associated with responsibility. The voluntary, part-time and honorary assumption of public tasks and offices is usually not or only partially compensated. Where the militia activity is replaced by professionalization (external school evaluation, child and adult protection authority (KESB) etc.), the costs are several times higher and acceptance is lower because the militia is anchored in the population.

Every generation has to be re-enlightened at elementary school about the meaning and value of the militia principle in the context of Swiss history. The lack of militia authorities in the communities was tried to be remedied with community mergers, but this was unsuccessful as the people feel less connected to the new communities and feel less responsible for them. The militia principle forms the ethical foundation for our direct democracy because it needs a society shaped by the militia spirit in order to be able to create and develop cultural values.

The idea of ​​militia in the political arena has advantages because professional knowledge can be brought into political office. This is conducive to a pragmatic conduct of office oriented towards real problems; possible conflicts of interest are problematic . Many municipalities have no other option than to designate stakeholders, as other people do not apply for office due to lack of expertise. The statutory obligation to withdraw in the event of a conflict of interests is only applicable to a very limited extent, since the office would not be exercisable if it were consistently applied. Similar problems also arise in the Federal Parliament. There are many representatives there who often sit on several administrative boards of the economy or manage a company.

Year of militia work

The Swiss Association of Municipalities (SGV) wants to strengthen the militia system so that it remains sustainable, because the political system in Switzerland lives from the participation and commitment of its citizens. To this end, platforms are being created to provide and receive impulses. An in-depth interdisciplinary discussion from different perspectives should be encouraged. The community association has chosen 2019 as the “year of militia work”.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Markus Freitag, Pirmin Bundi, Martina Flick Witzig: Militia work in Switzerland. Facts and figures on political life in the community. NZZ Libro, Zurich 2019, ISBN 978-3-03810-400-1 .
  2. ^ Andreas Kley: Militia system. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . November 10, 2009 , accessed June 6, 2019 .
  3. ↑ swissworld.org , a publication by Presence Switzerland PRS, an official body of the Swiss Confederation
  4. ↑ swissworld.org , a publication by Presence Switzerland PRS, an official body of the Swiss Confederation
  5. ↑ René Roca: The origins of the militia system: Switzerland's militia system - a historical outline. Technical article from «Swiss Community» 5/2019
  6. ^ Parliamentary dictionary of the Swiss Federal Assembly
  7. ↑ H. Geser: Communal government and administration. An empirical manual
  8. ^ E. Gruner, B. Junker: Citizens, State and Politics in Switzerland
  9. ↑ Swiss community association: 2019 year of militia work