Switzerland’s political system is remarkable due to two special qualities: the strong emphasis given to direct democracy and the country’s marked degree of federalism. In no other country is the level of direct democratic participation of citizens – not only in elections, but also in referendums on specific issues – so advanced as in Switzerland. Viewed on an international level, the Swiss are by far the nationality most frequently called to the ballot box in order to make the final decision on policy issues.Sager, F, Ingold, K & Balthasar, A 2017, Policy-Analyse in der Schweiz. Besonderheiten, Theorien, Beispiele, NZZ-Verlag, Zurich, p. 22.

There is also the fact that the Swiss cantons enjoy a uniquely strong position within the federal state. Based on elements such as their own constitutions, the equal rights of the Council of States and the National Council and the various other channels for influencing the legislative process of the federal government, including the consultation procedure, the cantons to some extent represent “miniature nations”.Vatter, A 2014, Das politische System der Schweiz, Nomos, Baden-Baden, p. 427. For example, all tasks which the Federal Constitution (FC) does not expressly assign to the federal government fall under the jurisdiction of cantons. In keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, these in turn pass on competencies to the municipalities. With respect to energy policy, the cantons are primarily responsible for the area of construction (Art. 89(4) of the FC).

During the formulation of energy-policy measures and the implementation of these measures, Switzerland’s political system therefore places particularly high demands on the cantons and municipalities in terms of acceptance. This is shaped by the necessity to achieve broad and active support from citizens. On the one hand, this has the disadvantage that significant hurdles have to be overcomes before something changes. On the other, once a decision has been made, the change already enjoys a broad level of acceptance and can generally be implemented without major resistance.Project “Acceptance of renewable energy”, especially Dermont, C, Ingold, K, Kammermann, L & Stadelmann-Steffen, I 2017, “Bringing the policy making perspective in: A political science approach to social acceptance”, Energy Policy, 108, pp. 359–368.