Energy system transitions in democracies require that national interests and central planning are reconciled with the public's preferences. This pilot study investigates public support for the Swiss national energy strategy and two specific technologies that are part of it: expansion of...

This open access book gathers the results of an interdisciplinary research project led by the Swiss Competence Centers for Energy Research (SCCER CREST) and jointly implemented by several universities. It identifies political, economic and legal challenges and opportunities in the energy...

A common understanding in public opinion studies is that we, the public, often turn to mental short-cuts to form an opinion on important policy issues: in particular, we reflexively adopt the positions of the political parties with which we identify. The use of political heuristics is prevalent...

This article compares the scientific publication output and international academic visibility of Swiss political science departments, using three indicators (number of publications, number of citations, and the h-index) and publicly available data from two sources: the ISI Web of Knowledge and...

Field trials with GM crops are not only plant science experiments. They are also social experiments concerning the implications of government imposed regulatory constraints and public opposition for scientific activity. We assess these implications by estimating additional costs due to...

This paper is now published as:Bernauer, Thomas, Ernst, Fabio, Koubi, Vally. 2009. Economic Consequences of Swiss Defense Spending. Journal of Peace Research 46/4, 2009:467-484.Please read and cite the published version.The effects of defense spending on economic performance, and in particular,...

Over the years, the Handbook of Swiss Politics has established itself as a classic work. This new and extended second edition of the Handbook comprises 32 chapters, all by leading Swiss political scientists. The contributors write about fundamentals, institutions, interest groups, political...