Die Schweiz in der Staatstheorie

The book explores how Switzerland – more specifically, its political system, material and formal constitution – is represented in the works of several prominent state theories from the 18th to the 20th century. The authors Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Madison, Alexis de Tocqueville, Jacob Burckhardt, and Max Weber are presented concisely and placed within their respective historical contexts, such as the turmoil of the Geneva Republic, the American constitutional movement from 1787 to 1788, or the emerging Swiss federal state. Building on this, the author Daniel Brühlmeier examines the position and treatment of Switzerland in these classics. These external perspectives on Switzerland have largely gone unnoticed until now and are presented here for the first time in a prominent and exemplary manner.