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Postcards from the future
Tahrir Square meme: Event
openAwakening in conjunction with the University of East London is organizing a three-part event series on ‘The Tahrir Square Meme’ to be held at UEL's Dockland Campus.
Our first event is Rap and the Arab Spring.
The Long Revolution
The Long and the Quick of revolution Anthony Barnett
We live in revolutionary times... but what does this mean? Anthony Barnett
The precariat: why it needs deliberative democracy Guy Standing
The Long Revolution Raymond Williams
Occupy movement
For England's Sake!
Our Authors
Jim Gabour Sunday Comics
James Warner Standing Perpendicular, as books do
Markha Valenta Inter Alia: religion, politics, culture
Paul Rogers on Global security
Li Datong on China from the inside
Mary Kaldor on Human security
Daniele Archibugi on Cosmopolitan democracy
Book - Fred Halliday's oD essays
The Drugs Policy Forum
Demotix: photo partner
The voter turn-out was extremely high by Swiss standards for referenda: 57%. Usually it’s little more than 40%. The Swiss have several referenda every year, so I wouldn’t say they used a rare chance to “stick two fingers up at the political class”.
On the whole the voters have shown realism, and the system of direct democracy has worked well. Now there is a result that is against the Swiss constitution, against the European Convention of Human Rights, and against the Declaration of Human Rights. I share Matt’s guess that this ban on minaretts won’t survive the European Court of Human Rights, and the initiators of this referendum must have known that too from the beginning.
The whole thing is symbolic, and (yes, Jay!) racist. There are exactly 4 minaretts in Switzerland and none of these is used for calls to prayer. Swiss communities have a lot of influence on the look of planned buildings, so usually the resulting architecture is un-controversal. Here is a photo of one of these 4 mosques with minarett in Switzerland: not exactly oriental.
The “unknown reason” why the Swiss accepted this referendum is racism or islamophobia incited by a campaign that is very worrying. This is a legislation that is aiming at the rights of Muslims. Almost certainly it’s also a protest against how immigration is managed. The tension between Switzerland and Libya has probably played a role too.
Some people have said that human rights must be excepted from referenda. In my view they miss that all law, including human rights, must be set somehow, and referenda are the most direct democratic means to do so.
On the other hand Switzerland has joined the Council of Europe and the UN and their legislation is restricted by that, fortunately.