Recent Developments of Swiss Federalism

Since the year 2000, Switzerland has had a totally revised constitution. The main changes deal with issues of federalism. Globalization has and will have strong centralizing effects, although localization might trigger emotional and nationalistic reactions within the different ethnic communities of Switzerland. The growing mobility of people and the important percentage of foreigners living in Switzerland (20 percent) are additional challenges to the already existing but constitutionally provided diversity. This article explains the new constitution within this framework of the modem world. In particular, it focuses on the specificity of Swiss diversity and the new balance between self-rule and shared rul

The Curent Situation of Federalism in Switzerland

El federalisme suís es basa en diversitats tradicionals i, en certa manera, també en diversitats modernes. Des de l’edat mitjana, la Confederació Suïssa s’ha anat enriquint mentre feia front a reptes de diversitats econòmiques, religioses, culturals i lingüístiques. Des que Suïssa es va fundar com a estat modern, el 1848, la Constitució del país ha estat esmenada més de 100 vegades amb disposicions específiques. A banda d’això, ha estat revisada completament dues vegades, el 1874 i el 1999. Amb la nova Constitució, l’equilibri federal entre el govern compartit i l’autogovern ha canviat lleugerament. S’han centralitzat alguns poders, i la pèrdua d’autogovern s’ha vist compensada amb més govern compartit, la qual cosa dóna als cantons l’oportunitat d’augmentar la participació en els processos de presa de decisions d’àmbit federal. Pel que fa a les diversitats, la nova Constitució federal ha introduït disposicions importants dirigides a consolidar la legitimitat federal i facilitar eines democràtiques per a la gestió de conflictes.Swiss Federalism builds on the traditional and to a certain extent also the modern diversities. Since middle age the Swiss confederation has always been enriched and challenged by economic, religious, cultural and linguistic diversities. Since the foundation of Switzerland as a state of modernity in 1848 the constitution has been more than 100 times modified with specific provisions. In addition there have been two total revisions in 1874 and in 1999. With the new constitution the federal balance between shared rule and self rule has slightly been changed. It has centralized some of the powers and compensated the loss of self rule with more shared rule and thus given cantons more possibilities to participate within the federal decision making process. With regard to the diversities the new federal constitution has introduced important provisions in order to strengthen the federal legitimacy and to provide democratic tools for conflict management.El federalismo suizo se basa en diversidades tradicionales y hasta cierto grado, también modernas. Desde la Edad Media, la ConfederaciónSuiza se ha ido enriqueciendo afrontando retos de diversidades económicas, religiosas, culturales y lingüísticas. Desde que Suiza se fundó como Estado moderno en 1848, su Constitución se ha enmendado más de 100 veces con disposiciones específicas. Además, ha sido revisada por completo dos veces, en 1874 y en 1999, respectivamente. Con la nueva Constitución ha cambiado ligeramente el equilibrio federal entre el gobierno compartido y el autogobierno. Algunos de los poderes se han centralizado, y la pérdida de autogobierno ha sido compensada con más gobierno compartido, lo que da a los cantones la oportunidad de una mayor participación en los procesos de toma de decisión a nivel federal. Con respecto a las diversidades, la nueva Constitución federal ha introducido importantes disposiciones con el fin de fortalecer la legitimidad federal y proporcionar instrumentos democráticos para la gestión de conflictos

Competitive Equilibrium and Trading Networks: A Network Flow Approach

Under full substitutability of preferences, it has been shown that a competitive equilibrium exists in trading networks, and is equivalent (after a restriction to equilibrium trades) to (chain) stable outcomes. In this paper, we formulate the problem of finding an efficient outcome as a generalized submodular flow problem on a suitable network. Equivalence with seemingly weaker notions of stability follows directly from the optimality conditions, in particular the absence of improvement cycles in the flow problem. Our formulation yields strongly polynomial algorithms for finding competitive equilibria in trading networks, and testing (chain) stability

The Role of Monocytes in Angiogenesis and Atherosclerosis

New vessel formation inside the arterial wall and atherosclerotic plaques plays a critical role in pathogenesis of heart attacks and strokes. The 2 known mechanisms resulting in the formation of new vessels within the plaque are local ischemia and inflammation. Blood monocytes play an important role in both processes. First, they express receptors for vascular endothelial growth factor and some of them may serve as circulating ancestors of endothelial cells. Second, monocytes are associated with inflammation by synthesis of inflammatory molecules following their activation (e.g., after stimulation of Toll-like receptors). Neovascularization is a reparative response to ischemia, and includes 3 processes: angiogenesis, arteriogenesis, and vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis, the formation of new capillary vessels is known to occur in response to a hypoxic environment. The interaction between leukocytes and vascular wall via overexpression of various molecules facilitates the migration of inflammatory cells into the plaque microenvironment. Monocytes are intimately involved in tissue damage and repair and an imbalance of these processes may have detrimental consequences for plaque development and stability. Importantly, monocytes are comprised of distinct subsets with different cell surface markers and functional characteristics and this heterogeneity may be relevant to angiogenic processes in atherosclerosis. The aim of this review article is to present an overview of the available evidence supporting a role for monocytes in angiogenesis and atherosclerosis

THE CURRENT SITUATION OF FEDERALISM IN SWITZERLAND

Swiss Federalism builds on the traditional and to a certain extent also themodern diversities. Since middle age the Swiss confederation has always beenenriched and challenged by economic, religious, cultural and linguistic diversities.Since the foundation of Switzerland as a state of modernity in 1848the constitution has been more than 100 times modified with specific provisions.In addition there have been two total revisions in 1874 and in 1999.With the new constitutionthe federal balance between shared rule and selfrule has slightly been changed. It has centralized some of the powers andcompensatedthe loss of self rule with more shared rule and thus given cantonsmore possibilities to participate within the federal decision making process.With regard to the diversities the new federal constitution has introducedimportant provisions in order to strengthen the federal legitimacy andto provide democratic tools for conflict management

Chapitre 2. Souveraineté et pouvoir

§ 15 Pouvoir et force a) La problématique 1 En quoi le paiement des impôts par les contribuables se distingue-t-il de la remise du contenu des coffres par les employés agissant sous la menace des revolvers que les gangsters braquent sur eux ? La réponse à cette question est la suivante : on doit payer ses impôts parce qu’il s’agit d’une obligation juridique, tandis qu’on remet l’argent des coffres aux gangsters parce qu’on y est contraint. Cette réponse n’est toutefois pas entièrement satisfa..