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The author served as ambassador of Hungary in Switzerland for four years. This experience made it possible for him to approach the characteristics of Swiss life through the peculiarities of the German language used in Switzerland – characteristics that seem to be present also in the French and Italian language spoken in the country. The author argues that several words and concepts used in Switzerland carry meanings that are unknown for the rest of German-speaking people, because they reflect a very specific way of life, that of the people living in Switzerland. Characteristics of Swiss democracy can be understood through the specific language and are difficult to be transferred anywhere else unless people are made aware of this characteristic. The paper summarizes the experience of writing a whole book on the topic in German, Helvetismen, sums up its main ideas and presents some of its echoes in the German-speaking world.
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The paper analyses the premises under which Switzerland was able to maintain its neutrality during the second World War, despite the efforts of Nazi Germany to integrate Switzerland into the German empire. The position of the Swiss press, the majority of Swiss population and the military strategy adopted by general Henri Guisan are analysed in detail. Switzerland’s specific cultural heritage, its strong sense of national identity, and its long tradition of direct democracy and civil liberties were the basis of the Swiss political and military strategy during the war. Also, Swiss geography, the crucial role of trans-alpine rail tunnels, doubled with the fact that Switzerland maintained its economical exchange policy with all parties involved into the war were key aspects of Switzerland’s neutrality
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The author explains the attraction of Eastern European countries towards the “Swiss political model” and presents the historical variants of viewing it as a model for Eastern Europe. The methodology of the analysis is that of political sociology. The conclusion of the analysis is that the Swiss model as such represents a utopia for countries like Hungary, Romania, the former Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. The specific emergence of the Swiss model, the aspects of Swiss political culture and national identity differ from the realities of East-Central Europe and of the Balkans. Some very specific elements of the Swiss political model are taken into account as a conclusion, elements that can inspire Eastern European political strategies, but which do not mean that the Swiss model as a whole can be transferred to different countries.
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The essay presents the identity issue of Swiss people as a paradox: while the author considers himself a Swiss citizen with a Swiss identity, as a writer he considers himself a German author who uses for this purpose a German language that exists only in its written form. Identity issues are discussed in the essay as problems connected to places and spaces, but in its most important aspect as something that exists in connection with language. Identity is presented as something that works differently in different fields of life: in sports, in everyday life and in literature.
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