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.

Questions why Switzerland undertakes different approaches to common public policy problems, with a high rate of success

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.