Collaborating beyond the boundaries of citizenship: a transcultural perspective on public participation in the development of Swiss immigrant policy.

dc.contributor.authorFritze, Christine Elena
dc.contributor.supervisorSchallié, Charlotte
dc.date.accessioned2012-07-30T22:44:49Z
dc.date.available2012-07-30T22:44:49Z
dc.date.copyright2012en_US
dc.date.issued2012-07-30
dc.degree.departmentProgram: Dispute Resolutionen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines Switzerland’s conflict around the integration of non-citizens in the context of the Swiss system of direct democracy. Through a case study on three recent referendum initiatives on immigrant policy, my research sought to answer the question: How does the use of referenda on immigrant policy impact public discourses on the social and political integration of non-citizens in German-speaking Switzerland? In exploring this question, I focused on how public discourses addressed the link between direct democracy, immigrant policy and non-citizen experiences. I analysed political advertisements, newspaper articles, and data collected in an interview with Swiss resident author Dragica Rajčić. My research findings showed that the use of referendum initiatives to make decisions on immigrant policy has had a significant impact on integration discourses. In particular, it has provided the conservative nationalist Swiss People’s Party with the opportunity to move their political agenda to the forefront of public debates. My findings also demonstrated that non-citizen perspectives were marginalized in the public discourses under examination. I therefore concluded that the process of transforming the Swiss conflict around the integration of immigrants will require Swiss governments to re-imagine how the political participation of non-citizens can be institutionalized. Granting non-citizens a more active political role would promote cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, making Switzerland’s direct democracy more democratic.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/4101
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectCollaborationen_US
dc.subjectimmigrant policyen_US
dc.subjectSwitzerlanden_US
dc.subjectconflict studiesen_US
dc.subjectdirect democracyen_US
dc.subjecttransculturalismen_US
dc.subjecttransnational literatureen_US
dc.subjectDragica Rajčićen_US
dc.subjectdiscourse analysisen_US
dc.subjectSwiss People's Partyen_US
dc.titleCollaborating beyond the boundaries of citizenship: a transcultural perspective on public participation in the development of Swiss immigrant policy.en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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