Interest Groups

Abstract This chapter recounts the historical development of the Swiss system of interest intermediation. It discusses the central role of interest groups in the Swiss political system. After their creation at the end of the nineteenth century, the major economic interest groups (business interest associations and trade unions) could rely on the financial support of the federal state to fund their secretariat. They helped an incipient federal state extend its reach and thus forged themselves a key role in the Swiss political system, which was strengthened throughout the twentieth century. Even nowadays, they dispose of considerable resources in comparison to political parties, in terms of finance, membership, and expertise, and actively intervene in the different phases of the Swiss decision-making process. The chapter is structured as follows: after a first section on the creation of the major Swiss interest groups, it analyses the institutionalization of their relations with the political authorities at the federal level and the intertwining of the public and private spheres. It then examines their influence in the major political arenas (administration, parliament, and direct democracy). The next section presents and discusses the relevance of the neo-corporatist model applied to Switzerland. Finally, the last section delves into recent changes since the 1990s, marked by important changes in the organization and political strategies of interest groups in a context of growing globalization and mediatization of Swiss politics.