Dossier SWITZERLAND | Le Regard Libre

Label: SWITZERLAND File

History

Swiss identity as seen through the conflicting eyes of two historians

written by Fanny Agostino

DOSSIER «SWITZERLAND, DEFINITION», Fanny Agostino | The particularities of Switzerland make it a veritable minefield for the question of identity. Unique in the eyes of some, it is plural in the eyes of others. Still others consider it non-existent. To define the contours of this issue, we compared the points of view of two historians specializing in Swiss history, Dominique Dirlewanger and Olivier Meuwly. What is their vision of Swiss identity? And how do they view recent events such as the unbolting of statues and the feminization of street names? Regards croisés.

Switzerland

Ada Marra: «The SVP has succeeded in stealing the definition of being Swiss».»

By Jonas Follonier · 20 May 2022

Ada Marra is a member of the Swiss National Council in Bern. Italian by birth, the Vaud socialist refuses to conceive of a single Swiss culture. Her Facebook post on August 1, 2017 starting with «LA Suisse n'existe pas» earned her a barrage of insults. Time for dialogue.

History

Switzerland: language neutral?

By Erica Berazategui · May 19, 2022

DOSSIER «SWITZERLAND, DEFINITION», Erica Berazategui | In the midst of its monolingual neighbors, quadrilingual Switzerland is an exception and regularly raises a number of questions. This unique linguistic situation is, however, the simple fruit of history and of a virtually disinterested (but very real!) policy over many centuries towards the languages spoken on the territory.