The Politics and Government of Switzerland provides a wide and up-to-date vision of everyday Swiss politics, focusing on the people of Switzerland who play an unusually large role. In Switzerland, politics comes before government and those politics are more competitive and lively than myths suggest. The book is divided into four sections. The first deals with the settings and contexts of Swiss politics. The second examines the actors involved, from the people through cantons to the judiciary. The third analyses Switzerland's unusual processes of consultation, direct democracy and federalism. Finally there is a detailed consideration of internal and external policy outcomes. Together they make it possible to examine the Swiss in the context of comparative and European politics in a way rarely possible in the past.