In order to have a complete understanding of the politics of immigration in Switzerland, it is crucial to realize the impact direct democracy has in shaping public policy and public opinion. Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander Trechsel, two prominent Swiss political scientists, consider direct democracy not only to be the “most crucial institution of the Swiss political system” but also the most developed system of its kind in the world, both in terms of significance and in terms of sheer numbers. Swiss voters took part in 321 referendums between 1960 and 2003, over seven per year on average, by far the most numerous of the 47 nations in the Council of Europe. The importance of direct democracy in ensuring the continued salience of the …show more content…
When the Constitution was revised in 1874, the optional referendum was introduced allowing “the holding of a referendum on any change to federal legislation…” which can be requested “by 50,000 voters or eight cantons within a period of 100 days after the publication of the law.” Of the 2181 parliamentary decisions eligible for an optional referendum from 1848 to 2005, only 156 were subject to them. Of these 156, only 46% were successful in rejecting legislation that had been passed by Parliament.
The already expansive institution of direct democracy was further extended in 1891 with “the introduction of the popular initiative for the partial revision of the Constitution” that must also be accepted by a double majority of people and cantons. In order to present a popular initiative to the electorate, organizers must gather 100,000 signatures within eighteen months. Interestingly, popular initiatives can consist of complete proposals for constitutional modifications or merely a “proposal that simply states a general goal of changing the Constitution” leaving it up to Parliament to implement said goals as it sees fit. Popular initiatives are incredibly diverse, ranging from “demands for new footpaths in the Alps to the abolition of the armed forces.” When faced with a popular initiative, “the Federal Parliament may…formulate a counterproposal to the initiative…in which case the
Many politicians argue that there is a need for institutional reform in the United States—the sole purpose of such reform should be to develop a more efficient system for the state as a whole. However, others argue that there are existing institutions in the United States that are structured efficiently. In order to help determine where an individual will stand on the debate about institutional reform, one must compare the effects of different forms of political institutions with the existing form in the United States. There are three new proposals of reform to discuss for the United States: 1) change in the electoral system for the House of Representatives, 2) change in the executive structure
A major weakness of the referendum process it that that if the proposal is to complex or there is a number of proposals to be consider, voters are likely to struggle to understand the issue or be engage in the debate as it is too complex for them. It would create many people to be confused and therefore elect to vote No so that the constitution wouldn’t be changed as they are afraid what would happen in the future if there vote YES. On the other hand, a major strength of the process of referral
The pros of the recall of elected officials is that “it provides a way for citizens to retain control over elected officials who are not representing the best interests of their constituents, or who are unresponsive or incompetent” (Recall of State Officials, 2013, September 11). This gives us “we the people” an opportunity to help out our state and the citizens within it. It gives us a voice. Now why giving the power directly to the people in should regards to referendum and how will it benefit our society? Referendums allow “citizens to determine policy directions on particular issues and to make and repeal laws by a direct vote of the people” (Gallop, L., 2007). A referendum gives the people the right for constitutional change and state referendums especially when it comes to social issues. In addition, the government should give the power to the people on the right to initiative because it will benefit our society. Initiatives, now permitted by 24 states, have been particularly prominent in the West, having been utilized more than 300 times as a part of Oregon, more than 250 times in California, and very nearly 200 times in Colorado. A wide range of issues have showed up on the vote in the different states, including regulation of professions and organizations, against smoking enactment, vehicle protection rates, premature birth rights,
Also, politicians may go against the wishes of the people, for example with the bedroom tax. There was a great deal of controversy associated with it, however the government still pursued it. If a referendum had been held, the opinions of the public on the matter may have been expressed, however one wasn’t held therefore this political action could be deemed as being undemocratic.
When you have substantial amounts of people subsiding in a general region you will always have those who agree with certain policies and those you disagree. In the case of the US immigration policy, there was a considerable amount of people who had strong opinions on America's way of running their immigration system. Many interviews, articles, speeches, and cartoons were created to show the harsh insensitivity they felt was being portrayed in immigration. A Senator of New York named Meyer Jacobstein made several thought-provoking claims towards the policy. He started with a point against the committee, “ One of the purposes in shifting to the 1890 census is to reduce the number of undesirables and defectives in our institutions. In fact,
In doing so, political parties could ensure they held power regardless of public opinion. Those who counted the vote had the power to dictate the outcome. In an attempt to counteract and put an end to these activities, the citizens had to speak up and become more active in their government. Reformers implemented the concepts of initiative, referendum, and recall. Initiative petitioned a legislature to introduce a bill, making people more responsible for laws and political decisions. Referendums allowed citizens to vote on laws instead of state or national governments. Finally, recall allowed citizens to remove incompetent politicians from office with a second election. These practices did make progress, however, they lacked the power to truly investigate and exterminate the problem as a whole. They could adjust issues that were already present, but they did little to prevent future corruption. Similar to ending political corruption, the push for the direct election of senators through primary elections was an attempt get the citizens more active and promote democracy. Previously, senators were elected by legislators already in office; not the people. The Constitution stated, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature.” This led to legislatures electing individuals who they believed would be the best fit. To solve the problem, reformers pushed for the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. This adjustment to the Constitution states, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people” (Document C). By passing this amendment, the progressives had won a major victory. However, the amendment did little to make the government more democratic and nearly nothing to make it more efficient. Although the people had a
Because of the principles of direct democracy, the Arizona’s Constitution was created. With direct democracy citizens were responsible for governing themselves, not the elected representatives. America’s founders felt that direct democracy was impractical and unwise when they wrote the United Constitution in 1787. Although, the Progressive movement believed the government was no good and the only way to restore a fair government was to give power to the citizens. They struggle for the adoption of the initiative, citizens did not have to get permission from officials establish their own statues and constitutional measures; they needed 15% vote to get on ballot. Adoption of referendum, citizens could reject statues and constitutional measures adopted by official; they needed majority vote by Legislature to get on ballot, with the adoption of recall, official could be removed from office before the end of their term; they needed 25% to call a recall election. Finally, at the peak of the Progressive Movement Arizona became a state. The reasons the
The state of California was admitted into the Union in 1850 and has since grown into one of the largest economies in the world. Today, California is one of the most popular states in the union, attracting thousands of tourists every year. The California state constitution is one of the oldest state constitutions that is still in use. California has two constitutions: one ratified prior to their admittance into the union on November 13, 1849 and the current constitution, ratified on May 7, 1879 (Georgetown Law). Since its ratification, the document has been amended over 500 times. Compared to the federal government, the California constitution is also a representative democracy, electing governors, representatives, and senators to interpret and pass laws. Through the numerous amendments and the structure of government, California has proved to be a democratic institution. In this report, I will argue that the California Constitution is too democratic among its citizens. This does/doesn’t lead to ________.
One of the most controversial topics today in politics is what to do about illegal immigration in the United States. Should we consider all of the illegal immigrants felons? Should we give them full citizenship rights? These are all important questions related to illegal immigration. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented workers and imposed fines of up to $11,000 for each violation. Recently, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill, entitled H.R. 4437 (The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005). Just recently, due to massive overpopulation, the problem of illegal immigration is really starting to be taken
Prior to 1882, there were not any formal acts that controlled immigration. The Act of 1875 merely prohibited the importation of women for purposes of prostitution and the immigration of aliens "who are undergoing conviction in their own country for felonious crimes, other than political..." The Act of 1882 levied a head tax of fifty cents "for every passenger not a citizen of the United States," and forbade the landing of convicts, lunatics, idiots, or of "any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge."
The UK’s unwritten constitution, formed of Acts of Parliament [AoP], Royal Prerogative [RP], Constitutional Convention [CC] and Case Law [CL], prompts much debate about the ease of which constitutional change can be introduced. A written constitution is, by definition and practice, hard to alter however it remains to be seen whether it is any easier to change an unwritten
America's past is made up of immigrants who have came and formed our country. However illegal immigration has now plagued our economy. What happens when you allow millions into the country, both legally and illegally? Exactly what is happening today? You have tens or hundreds of groups, made up of various nationalities, from various places. Forming themselves into isolated communities, and then trying to get the country to change for them. This paper confirms detailed information on how America is being altered by mass immigration and by uncontrolled illegal immigrants.
Illegal immigration is crisis for our country. It is an open door for drugs, criminals, and potential terrorists to enter our country. It is straining our economy, adding costs to our judicial, healthcare, and education systems.” Timothy Murphy
The ‘standard version’ of the democratic deficit formulated by Weiler, consisting of the increased role of the executive Commission in matters of legislation, the weakness of the European Parliament (hereafter the EP), the lack of ‘European’ elections, EU distance to public scrutiny and voters, and finally ‘policy drifting’ by the executive non-compliant to voter interests, has and continues to be a major target of criticism within the field of European Union (the EU) law. The matter is of utmost importance
Immigrants built America into the country it is today. Some were fleeing persecution in their own countries. The immigrants came as free individuals, indentured servants, or slaves. Most came here to pursue a better life. America welcomed those individuals, and it has a process in place for those wishing to gain legal citizenship. The immigration issue is a hot topic in the United States today and concerns individuals who are entering the country illegally. Our representatives are proposing new laws to limit access to our country through other than legal means. There are strong feelings on each side.