Word: swiss
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...past, a nationally drafted militia kept the cantons from raising armies against each other. But it quickly became enshrined as the ultimate symbol of solidarity and subsidiarity. As Dr. Sabine Mannitz at the Peace Institute Research Frankfurt (PRIF) writes, “the Swiss concept of the citizen-soldier aims at the lowest possible degree of institutionalising military structures and at a maximum of immediate democratic control.” Compulsory militia service, the obligation to defend the polity on equal share, is the other side of the coin of semi-direct democratic participation rights. If you have equal decision...
...movement to abolish the Swiss military as a whole was based on an economic assessment: The costs of operating such a vigilant and locally prepared defense system when the apparent external threats seem so low are quite high...
...referendum failed by a vote of 64 percent to 36 percent (a margin many Swiss found surprisingly thin...
...anachronism, most Swiss still highly regard (nearly) universal conscription. For many who have served, the militia is a school of life, and teaches invaluable lessons. One former soldier noted that Swiss middle-class men cannot rise in the corporate world without a good show in the army...
...Many Swiss will tell you that there are multiple problems with the current policy, especially economic inefficiency, gender inequality, and a clash with popular pacifist sentiments. But compulsory service lives...