The features of Swiss democracy are frequently praised in theory but rarely assessed in practice. In this book Wolf Linder explains the way government and politics work in Switzerland. Combining the essence of many empirical studies with own observations, and giving illustrative examples, the author thoroughly analyses the institutions of federalism and consensus democracy through political power-sharing.

With the critical eye of a political scientist, Linder then analyses the scope and limits of citizens' participation in direct democracy - which distinguishes Switzerland most from parliamentary systems.

The value of the book goes beyond describing Switzerland and its political integration between different languages, religions and cultures. Analysing the nature of Swiss politics, Linder shows how federalism and political powersharing could help to resolve political conflict in other multicultural societies and to integrate different communities. Central and Eastern Europe, as well as countries with minority problems, could learn much of value from this study.