Abstract
The previous chapter uncovered important differences between decision-making structures across the 11 processes investigated by this study. As we have noted, both historically and in much contemporary literature, the Swiss political system has been described as highly consensual. And yet, when we focus on differences between decision-making structures across different policy domains, important elements appear that point toward a more conflictual style of decision-making. Both when there is a power balance between coalitions and in the presence of a dominant coalition, coalition interactions are conflictual in the majority of cases. Based on the descriptive account of these differences in Chapter 4, the present chapter studies the conditions under which given decision-making structures emerge. Under which circumstances are actors able to form a dominant coalition, and which conditions lead to a situation where power is more evenly balanced between coalitions? Which conditions lead actors to develop a conflictual rather than a consensual type of interaction? Answering these questions can give us some indication of the factors responsible for different types of decision-making structures.
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© 2015 Pascal Sciarini, Manuel Fischer and Denise Traber
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Fischer, M. (2015). Dominance, Competition, Compromise or Consensus? Explaining Decision-Making Structures. In: Political Decision-Making in Switzerland. Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137508607_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137508607_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-70160-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-50860-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political Science CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)