The ‘participationnist state’ and the ‘apathetic citizen’: educationalizing the ‘problem of non–voting’ in postwar Switzerland (1940s–1970s)

Abstract

Should citizens be educated into voting? Is non-voting a ‘problem’ for democracies, and, if yes, can it be educationalized? This article examines public debates on non-voting and its ‘educationalization’ in post-war Switzerland, in order to analyse the renegotiation of citizenship norms and ideals at a time when the priority of voting over other, non-institutional forms of political participation was increasingly contested. With a longstanding emphasis on (male) citizens’ participation in institutional politics, Switzerland as a ‘part Show more