Will nation

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Bundeshaus (Bern) : Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (German: one for all - all for one)

A state describes itself as a willing nation in the sense of a voluntaristic , i.e. consciously wanted community of resident citizens of different ethnic origins . The construction of the nation of will goes back to Ernest Renan . In the sociological scientific literature, the nation of will belongs to the three types of nation, alongside the state nation and the cultural nation .

Basics for the formation of a nation of will

The nation of will is formed by free people who join the nation in a self-determined way. A nation of will cannot be prescribed by the state, but only promoted by not strengthening the power of the central office, but cultivating civil society. It arises from the bottom up due to the free will of sovereign citizens, when they are prepared to take on a high degree of responsibility for the common good and to respect municipal autonomy and federal sovereignty. The development of such a political culture takes a long time to grow. Multi-ethnic states are therefore often not to be seen as willing nations, even if some of them have taken a path in this direction, such as Bolivia , which has been calling itself a “plurinational state” since 2009.

international law

The right of peoples to self-determination is enshrined in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in a number of resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations . Therefore, the principle of a nation's territorial integrity is not considered absolute in this context. However, the right to self-determination does not have to mean total independence in every case. The international legal norm of the UN Charter represents a preventive strategy to avoid armed conflict: If part of the population wants to break away from a nation, this should be done peacefully through a referendum. In 2014, Scotland voted 55.3 percent against in the referendum on independence to remain in the United Kingdom .

Community feeling and common will

The connecting “feeling of togetherness and identity ” ( sense of community ) develops according to socio-psychological aspects. It is therefore not an indication of a people who are connected to one another by a common language and culture. Ethnically diverse indigenous groups live in a nation of will , but they feel they belong to the common state, the multi-ethnic state . Such countries are also referred to as state nations in this sense .

The nation of will is based on a general will, which, according to Jean-Jacques Rousseau , represents the interest of all in the common good of the people who have deposed their monarch as sovereign and in his place. He defined the general will, the Volonté générale , as the “real interest” of democracy and the sovereign state people . A will nation also needs a purpose towards which the will is directed. In Switzerland this is the common will to enjoy a maximum of political freedom.

Federalism as a form of government

One of the most important prerequisites for a nation of will is a decentralized, bottom-up democracy that functions according to the principle of subsidiarity and thus, above all, grants the various minorities the greatest possible self-determination . It presupposes the willingness of the citizens in the sense of the militia principle to take on a high degree of responsibility (participation in community assemblies and referendums, part-time administrative work, militia army, etc.) for the common good.

For the early theoretician of federalism Pierre-Joseph Proudhon , the federal system is "the only one that unites the conditions for justice, order, freedom and duration". For him, every political order was based on the dualism of authority and freedom: “Authority without a freedom that discusses, offers resistance or submits is an empty word; Freedom without authority to counterbalance it, nonsense ”.

In order to bring authority and freedom into a reasonable balance, the federal system incorporates the idea of ​​the political contract. The theory of the social contract ( Principes du droit politique , 1751) worked out by Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui , a representative of the French-speaking Swiss natural law school , was further developed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his Contract Social in 1762 .

For Proudhon, the social contract is always a federation contract that is actually effective, proposed, discussed and voted on. He only gains all his dignity and morality if he is reciprocal (exchange contract) and his object is limited: The citizen must get as much from the state as he surrenders, and he must retain all of his freedom, sovereignty and initiative.

“What constitutes the essential feature of the federal treaty and to which I draw the reader's attention is that in this system the contractors, heads of families, municipalities, districts, provinces or states not only mutually and in a balanced manner commit themselves to one another; rather, they each retain more rights, more freedom, more authority and more property than they cede upon conclusion of the contract. "

- Proudhon

The rule of freedom is established in a democracy through the sharing of power. According to Proudhon, the idea of ​​the separation of powers is one of the greatest achievements in political science. For Proudhon, the federal system was a guarantee of peace, both internally and for the neighbors. It would curb not only the outrage of the masses, but also any kind of ambition and demagoguery.

Political culture

A willing nation needs a certain political culture, which must be constantly promoted and which takes years to develop. This includes the will to local self-government with the political commitment of the citizens, self-responsibility, readiness for consensus procedures and compromises, a neutral, cautious foreign policy with a humanitarian maxim, a common understanding and a tolerant treatment of the linguistic and confessional minorities by giving them more than only the proportional share is granted. This includes the common will to preserve and maintain the independence of the willing nation and its purpose by promoting peace in the world and, if necessary, by military defense.

Adolf Gasser has examined the political and ethical principles for a constructive community life. In his view, European liberalism had implemented the idea of ​​freedom in the area of ​​the political constitution and the economy, but had got stuck in administrative authoritarianism in political practice and was unable to break away from bureaucratic centralism. Only a federal state with extensive municipal autonomy is a guarantee for constructive community life.

Differences between will nation, state nation and cultural nation

A willing nation consists of population groups that differ ethnically, linguistically, religiously and based on their mentality or historical experience to a greater or lesser extent and often belong to a minority within the will nation. These states are not shaped by the ethnic commonality of their citizens, etc., but see their raison d'être solely from the will of the citizens for a common state.

The concept of the state nation was developed for France in retrospect of the events of the French Revolution . France is therefore considered a prime example of a state nation ( French état-nation ), as France was also ethnically very heterogeneous in 1789. The use of the term nation here has a more psychological character, because with it the different ethnic groups are supposed to develop a community and a we-feeling for the state and thus tame opposing forces and thus guarantee the continued existence of the state.

The nation of will stands in contrast to the culture nation , an ethnic community of people that is characterized by a linguistic and cultural community. The cultural nation in contrast to the nation-state is not necessarily in a nation-state organized, that usually goes beyond (man-made) borders. A cultural nation does not necessarily have a sense of community or a national consciousness, but is only externally recognizable through the common culture of its residents (language, cultural-geographic similarities, common art and intellectual history, etc.).

Typical immigrant states such as Canada or the United States of America mostly use the self-term " nation " for themselves . The prerequisites for the concept of a cultural nation in the founding period are questionable, these are therefore described as a “will-nation or community of will”.

Not declared will nations

The prerequisites for a nation of will such as ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities apply to most countries. This is shown, among other things, by the fact that the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has so far (as of 11/2012) been ratified by 25 Council of Europe states. The Charter works to ensure that the cohesion of regional linguistic minorities is not hindered by political borders.

There are various reasons why states that fulfill the concept of a will nation do not declare themselves to be a will nation. France , which has not yet ratified the Charter, is of the opinion that, despite Corsicans , Bretons and Alsatians , there are no linguistic minorities in the country. In Belgium , which has not signed the charter, the language groups cannot agree because everyone wants to be a minority.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the Russians in the non-Russian successor states became a linguistically discriminated minority. For Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania , demarcation and identification through language is a consequence of their statehood, which was suppressed by the Soviet Union for decades. The Ukraine is in fact a nation of consensus, with populations that quite strongly differ in language, mentality and historical experience for part of each other and where the ethnic Russians, even to account for nearly 20 percent of the population in eastern Ukraine to 50 percent.

The Republic of Singapore is a city-state with a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population and four official languages. It has a successful financial center of global importance. The proportion of foreigners is over 15 percent. Singapore tries to solve its challenges with a top-down approach . The Singapore political system is considered an illiberal democracy .

Willing nation Switzerland

In the Swiss Confederation , the term will nation is used as a key term to express the solidarity of all resident Swiss citizens with their linguistic, cultural and religious diversity.

Swiss special case

Unlike most European countries, Switzerland was not formed around a language, but the core of the nation is made up of political rights and political freedom as well as the responsibility of the communes and cantons. The national territory of Switzerland includes German, French, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic cultural and linguistic areas that cross borders with neighboring countries, as well as cantons with predominantly Catholic and Protestant religious affiliations.

On the one hand, the indigenous ethnic groups in Switzerland try to maintain their respective identities, but on the other hand, over the course of time, they have developed a common sense of togetherness across all ethnic groups and a firm will to maintain the common state. There are no separatist efforts, so that the people also refer to their state community as a nation of will.

“The federal state of Switzerland is - do you have to say it again and again? - a political creation. The patriotism of its citizens is an essentially cooperative, democratic, federal form of expression of the national, so that the national, if the word is applied to our country, looks completely different than in other European countries. "

- Jean Rudolf von Salis

Will for freedom and model Switzerland

In Switzerland, the common will has the purpose of enjoying a maximum of political freedom. If freedom in Switzerland were no longer higher than in neighboring countries, the willing nation could be endangered.

In order to preserve the willing nation and its independence, foreign policy is committed to armed neutrality , the humanitarian maxim (peacekeeping, international cooperation, good offices for the settlement of conflicts, depositary state of the Red Cross , etc.) and multilateralism .

State-political instruments such as direct democracy and federalism as well as political culture, which in Switzerland is expressed in the commitment of the citizen, in personal responsibility, a willingness to reach a consensus procedure (good federal compromise) and a cautious foreign policy, serve to ensure a conflict-free coexistence of the diverse cultural groups . The federal state is the result of a political compromise solution between the bourgeois-liberal and conservative-democratic forces, which helped direct democracy to break through.

Federalism, which to a certain extent also enables the different cultural groups to determine their own interests, is particularly small in Switzerland with 26 cantons and is built up from the communal level, from bottom to top. It was not undisputed by many liberals who favored a centralized federal state and the representative system . Already in the age of imperialism at the end of the 19th century they called him an outdated “ cantonal leagueist ”, and the same argument is now reappearing in the age of European integration .

“We are committed to the ideas of the free nationality union, the freedom of small states and democracy. [...] The goods that we Swiss defend with our state are ultimately supranational, eternal goods that weigh the heaviest in the judgment of world history. From this certainty, in the midst of a dark present, we draw trust in the future of Switzerland. "

- Karl Meyer

Integrative endeavors

In Switzerland's militia system , which is based on the traditional idea of ​​the unity of citizen and soldier, public tasks are mostly carried out on a part-time basis. General conscription in the militia army has a great integrative effect, as young Swiss from all linguistic and cultural backgrounds and social classes have a common task for general security for a long time.

The Federal Day of Thanksgiving, Repentance and Prayer , decided by the Diet in 1796 , is celebrated by members of all parties and denominations in Switzerland, which is politically and denominationally fragmented. As a "day of conscience, on which one contrasts the ephemeral with the eternal", it is also justified in terms of state policy and is intended to promote respect for those who think differently in terms of politics and denominations and to promote peace and express gratitude for the preservation of freedom and independence. In the prayer day mandate of 1862, Gottfried Keller warns his fellow citizens: "Never let our fatherland perish in the dispute over bread, let alone in the dispute over advantage and abundance!"

As early pioneers in building the nation of will, the federal festivals have played a major role since 1824, and they continue to be important for this purpose. In addition, there is the militia army as the “school of the nation”, in which a network of friendships and acquaintances across language and denominational boundaries is formed. Swiss solidarity has been promoted since the Goldau landslide with donations across Switzerland under the motto: “One for all, all for one”. With the founding of the Red Cross from 1863 and the internment of Bourbakiarmee the idea of humanitarian Switzerland was born, and the fund-raising ( Swiss donation , Solidarity , etc.) and humanitarian actions ( Children's Aid of the Swiss Red Cross , Swiss Rescue Switzerland , etc.) were given an international dimension .

The avoidance of an (alleged) occupation of the country by National Socialist Germany in World War II under General Henri Guisan from western Switzerland contributed to long-lasting internal cohesion . In addition to the military spirit of resistance, the economic spirit was also of great importance. The Wahlen plan saved the Swiss population and around 300,000 refugees from hunger and excessive deprivation, as a so-called cultivation battle also had a psychological effect and was a symbol of Switzerland's will to resist .

The largest transnational immigration that has taken place in the wake of globalization since the Swiss Confederation was founded also includes almost all non-European cultures. Here, the main work of promoting integration is done by the Swiss elementary school, which was founded in the early days of direct democracy as an integrative, community and democracy-promoting institution for broad public education ( Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi ) and equal opportunities for all social classes.

Stress tests

Historically speaking, the willing nation Switzerland has experienced a number of stress tests. A year before the founding of the federal state , it threatened to fail during the confusion of the Sonderbund due to the different ideas about direct democracy of the Catholic-federalist and liberal cantons united in the Sonderbund .

Before and during the First World War , when z. For example, the Swiss army command ( see Ulrich Wille ) was very much oriented towards the German military spirit, and accentuated after the German invasion of Belgium and France, violent polemics between German and French-speaking Switzerland threatened to shake the linguistic peace. Only the intervention (speech from 1914: “Our Swiss standpoint”) by the well-respected writer Carl Spitteler was able to smooth things over again. During the Jurassic conflict , a political dispute took place in Switzerland, which was peacefully settled in 1978 with the federal referendum to create the new canton of Jura .

In both world wars, the Swiss population undertook great financial (voluntary military loan, fortress construction) and personal deprivations ( active service , rationing , cultivated battles) in order to be able to defend and maintain the independence of the willing nation and its purpose, freedom.

The referendum of 1992 on accession to the European Economic Area was described as an "emotional ditch" ( Röstigraben ) in the media , when the majority in German-speaking Switzerland outweighed the positive French-speaking part of Switzerland with their no (the canton of Ticino, however, joined the German-speaking no -Stock at).

One of the unwritten laws was the rule that the first foreign language to be learned was a national language. This rule was deviated from in 2001: Appenzell Innerrhoden (2001) and Zurich (2004) introduced early English in primary school, and other cantons followed. The minority from western Switzerland criticized the “dictation from Zurich” and the Geneva newspaper Le Temps spoke of the “end of Switzerland”. Jean-Marie Vodoz , a representative of Francophonie , based on the French model, founded an association against Anglicisms in the French of western Switzerland. In order to restore the peace between languages, the education politicians invented a compromise solution with the "Model 3/5": a first foreign language should be taught in the third primary class and a second foreign language two years later. The standard curriculum “Curriculum 21” approved in October 2014 by the German-speaking Swiss Education Directors Conference (D-EDK) to introduce it in the cantons had rekindled the discussion because voters and parliaments of various cantons regard this as an interference with cantonal educational sovereignty.

See also

Multi-ethnic state

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maximilian Opitz: The minority policy of the European Union . LIT Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-8258-0524-1
  2. ↑ NZZ from September 19, 2014: Clear no from the Scots
  3. ↑ a b c d On the federal principle and the need to rebuild the party of revolution . First edition 1863, part 1: Verlag Peter Lang, Bern 1989, ISBN 978-3-631-40852-0
  4. ^ Adolf Gasser: Community freedom as the salvation of Europe. Basics of an ethical conception of history . 2nd greatly expanded edition, Verlag Bücherfreunde, Basel 1947
  5. ↑ See Ernest Renan, Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?
  6. ↑ a b FAZ of March 2, 2006: What the willing nation wants
  7. ↑ NZZ of April 14, 2010: Ukraine - a fragile nation of will
  8. ↑ avenir suisse: How Singapore is embracing the future . May 9, 2014. Viewed January 3, 2015
  9. ^ Jean Rudolf von Salis : Difficult Switzerland. Contributions to some contemporary issues . Collection of speeches and essays. Zurich 1968, p. 111
  10. ↑ NZZ of January 27, 2011: Paul Widmer: Willensnation Schweiz
  11. ^ E. Gruner et al .: Citizens, State and Politics in Switzerland , 1973
  12. ^ Speech by Karl Meyer at the meeting of the New Helvetic Society on April 27, 1938 on "Our task after the fall of Austria". In: Alice Meyer: Adaptation or Resistance. Switzerland at the time of German National Socialism. Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld, Stuttgart, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-7193-1542-9 .
  13. ^ Unprinted draft prayer day mandate for the second autumn month of 1862 by Gottfried Keller
  14. ↑ J. Tanner: Réduit national und Aussenwirtschaft (article), 1998.
  15. ↑ Swiss radio and television of April 4, 2019: Carl Spitteler «Our Swiss standpoint»
  16. ↑ U. Im Hof: History of Switzerland , 1981
  17. ^ F. Schaffer: Outline of Swiss History , 1972
  18. ↑ Chr. Blocher: Five years after the EEA No , 1997
  19. ↑ Education Department AI ( Memento from December 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  20. ↑ swissinfo.ch