Swiss Public Administration: Making the State Work Successfully(Governance and Public Management)

Swiss citizens approve of their government and the way democracy is practiced; they trust the authorities and are satisfied with the range of services Swiss governments provide. This is quite unusual when compared to other countries. This open access book provides insight into the organization and the functioning of the Swiss state. It claims that, beyond politics, institutions and public administration, there are other factors which make a country successful. The authors argue that Switzerland is an interesting case, from a theoretical, scientific and a more practice-oriented perspective. While confronted with the same challenges as other countries, Switzerland offers different solutions, some of which work astonishingly well.

Table of Contents:
Introduction.- Society, Government, and the Political System Andreas Ladner.- The Organization and Provision of Public Services Andreas Ladner.- The Characteristics of Public Administration in Switzerland Andreas Ladner.- The concept of Law and the principe of legality Sophie Weerts.- The preparliamentary phase in law-drafting : the power issues at stake Christine Guy-Ecabert.- The Federal Administration as an actor in the domestic integration of international law Sophie Weerts / Amalia Sophia.- Soft Law Instruments in Public Law Alexandre Flückiger.- Judicial federalism and constitutional review in the Swiss Judiciary Pascal Mahon.- The new model of Swiss public management Jean-Loup Chappelet.- Public Private Partnerships: A Swiss Perspective Laure Athias / Moudo Macina / Pascal Wicht.- In-depth modernization of HRM in the public sector: the Swiss way Yves Emery.- Communication and Transparency Martial Pasquier.- The Road to Digital and Smart Government in Switzerland TobiasMettler.-Financial management system, legislation and stakeholders Nils Soguel.- The Swiss way of presenting the governments’ financial statements Nils Soguel.- Tax power and tax competition Nils Soguel.- Fiscal Equalization: Financial transfers between governments Nils Soguel.- Social security policy Giuliano Bonoli.- Health Policy Josef Philipp Trein.- Policy Networks and the Role(s) of Public Administrations Frédéric Varone / Karin Miryam Ingold/ Manuel Fischer.- Factors contributing to the strong institutionalization of policy evaluation in Switzerland Katia Horber-Papazian / Marion Baud-Lavigne.

About the Author :
Andreas Ladner is Professor for Political Institutions and Public Administration at the Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique (IDHEAP) at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His research interests include the quality of democracy, political institutions and public administration, local government, political parties and voting advice applications. Nils Soguel is Professor of Public Finance at the Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His research interests include public sector financial management, fiscal policy, fiscal federalism and the evaluation of non-market goods and services. Yves Emery is Professor for Public Management and Human Resource at the Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His areas of research include HRM strategies, work identities, motivation and competencies of civil servants and public managers. Sophie Weerts is Associate Professor of Public Law at the Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Her research interests are in constitutional and administrative law. They focus on the structural sources and transformation of public law and the separation of powers. She also works on human rights, language policies and gender policy. Stéphane Nahrath is Professor of Public Policy at the Institut de Hautes Études en Administration Publique at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. His areas of research include comparative public policy, sustainable resource management and circular economy.

Review :
“The book is of interest to novice and experienced scholars as well as practitioners and has the potential to address a wide audience inside and outside Switzerland. … the book is inspiring, informative and well-structured, it is reader-friendly and up-to-date and closes a relevant gap on the book market. I am sure that this format will soon be followed by similar introductions to other countries, as the format as well as the elaboration are persuasive.” (Nathalie Behnke, Swiss Political Science Review, Vol. 25 (2), 2019)