50 Jahre Engagement der Schweiz im Europarat 1963–2013

In 2013, Switzerland will have been a member of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg for 50 years - an occasion for a preliminary review of Switzerland's commitment. Since its foundation in 1949, the Council of Europe has been the oldest of the major European institutions and today unites 47 states - including Russia and numerous countries in the Caucasus and the Balkans. Switzerland contributes its specific competencies to safeguard and further develop the European community of values. Among the Council of Europe's fields of activity, its commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and democracy stand out, and Switzerland also makes a notable contribution in these areas. The present volume brings together articles by researchers from Switzerland and Europe that address the following aspects: - the placement of Swiss involvement in the Council of Europe in Switzerland's European policy - the significance of the areas of work in the Council of Europe that have been significantly shaped by Switzerland - the discussions on the application and further development of European human rights protection - the political controversies surrounding the relationship between international legal standards and Swiss direct democracy - the possibilities and limits of Switzerland's European involvement in the areas of the rule of law and democratic policy The book provides a broad audience with well-founded analyses in an understandable form. It is thus aimed not only at specialists, but at all citizens who are concerned with Switzerland's role in Europe and in the world. Die Herausgeber / les éditeurs:Edité par Bernhard Altermatt et Gilbert Casasus au nom du Centre d'Études européennes de l'Université de Fribourg (UniFR-ZEUS), le livre contient des chapitres en français, en allemand et en anglais (avec des résumés dans l'autre langue). Il est le fruit d'une collaboration avec le Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE).