The Swiss State structure: Foreign policy and the armed forces
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Switzerland is a federal republic. There are two enclaves in the country: Büsingen is part of Germany and Campione di Italia is part of Italy. Before 1848 (apart from a brief period of the Helvetic Republic), Switzerland was a confederation; today it is effectively a federation, but the word "confederation" is retained in the official name of the country. Each canton has its own constitution and legislation, but these are limited by the federal constitution. The federal government has jurisdiction over matters of war and peace, foreign relations, the army, the railways, communications, the printing of currency, the approval of the federal budget, etc.
The legislative body is the bicameral Federal Assembly consisting of the National Council and the Council of States, with both chambers being equal in the legislative process.
The executive body is the Federal Council which is made up of 7 members, each of whom heads a ministry in the federal administration.
Switzerland is a federal state made up of 26 cantons and 6 semi-cantons, the cantons can be divided into districts, the districts into cities and municipalities and some municipalities into town districts.
The official languages of Switzerland include German, Italian, French and Romansh.
Foreign politics
Although Switzerland has a long tradition of political and military neutrality, it is an active player in international cooperation and is the traditional seat of many international organisations.
There are several opinions about when Swiss neutrality developed. Some scholars argue that Switzerland's neutrality emerged after a peace treaty with France on 29 November 1516 that called for "perpetual peace. The Swiss authorities subsequently took a number of decisions that moved the country towards a definition of neutrality. In 1713 Switzerland's neutrality was recognised by France, Spain, the Netherlands and England when they concluded the Peace of Utrecht.
However, in 1803 Switzerland was forced to conclude a treaty of military alliance with Napoleonic France, whereby the country undertook to make its territory available for military operations as well as sending a military contingent to the French army.
The Congress of Vienna in 1815 consolidated Switzerland's "permanent neutrality". Neutrality was finally confirmed and concretised by the Guarantee Act, signed in Paris on November 20, 1815 by Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia and France.
On January 22, 1506, the Swiss Guard was founded to protect the head of the Roman Catholic Church and his palace. The first Swiss Guard had a total strength of 150 men (the current strength is 110).
Armed forces
Switzerland has a military budget of CHF 5 billion a year, which is equivalent to USD 5 billion. The regular army has 5,000 men. There are 240,000 reservists.
There are 280,000 men in the civil defence force. Traditionally, the Swiss have the right to keep military weapons at home.
The length of service is from 18 to 21 weeks (ages 19 - 20), followed by 10 refresher courses of 3 weeks (ages 20 - 42).
In Switzerland a referendum was held twice (in 1989 and 2001) in favour of abolishing the regular army: the result was negative both times.
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