Coalition Formation in Parliament and during the Policy Process

Fischer, Manuel; Traber, Denise (2015). Coalition Formation in Parliament and during the Policy Process. In: Sciarini, Pascal; Fischer, Manuel; Traber, Denise (eds.) Political Decision-Making in Switzerland: the Consensus Model under Pressure. Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century (pp. 120-138). Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan UK 10.1057/9781137508607_6

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In modern democratic systems, usually no single collective actor is able to decisively influence political decision-making. Instead, actors with similar preferences form coalitions in order to gain more influence in the policy process. In the Swiss political system in particular, institutional veto points and the consensual culture of policy-making provide strong incentives for actors to form large coalitions. Coalitions are thus especially important in political decision-making in Switzerland, and are accordingly a central focus of this book. According to one of our core claims - to understand the actual functioning of Swiss consensus democracy - one needs to extend the analysis beyond formal institutions to also include informal procedures and practices. Coalitions of actors play a crucial role in this respect. They are a cornerstone of decision-making structures, and they inform us about patterns of conflict, collaboration and power among actors. Looking at coalitions is all the more interesting in the Swiss political system, since the coalition structure is supposed to vary across policy processes. Given the absence of a fixed government coalition, actors need to form new coalitions in each policy process.

Item Type:	Book Section (Book Chapter)
Division/Institute:	03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Other Institutions > Teaching Staff, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences 03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Political Science
UniBE Contributor:	Fischer, Manuel (B), Fischer, Manuel (B)
Subjects:	300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 320 Political science 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology
ISBN:	978-1-137-50859-1
Series:	Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Language:	English
Submitter:	Jeremy Simeon Trottmann
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2016 16:13
Last Modified:	29 Mar 2023 23:34
Publisher DOI:	10.1057/9781137508607_6
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Democracy, European Politics, European Union Politics, Political Philosophy, Political Sociology, Political Theory
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/82802