Institutions and Institutional Change in Subnational Switzerland: Cantonal Parliaments under Federal and Executive Pressure

In 2008, the Neugestaltung des Finanzausgleichs und der Aufgabenteilung zwischen Bund und Kantonen (NFA) took effect and through it Switzerland’s intercantonal cooperation was strengthened in selected policy areas. The corresponding revised articles of the constitution even stipulate federal instruments to force cantons to enter into intercantonal agreements. While the new provisions can be judged as safeguards against national centralization, especially cantonal legislatures periodically expressed serious reservations about a further empowerment of institutions of horizontal resp. executive federalism. Two questions seem crucial in this context: Has the reform really resulted in a denser net of intercantonal agreements? And if so, how did the cantonal legislatures react to the increased institutionalization and importance of the so-called concordats? This paper investigates the development of intercantonal agreements in Switzerland, especially for the recent period since the NFA has taken effect. After a general overview, two cantons (Bern and Glarus) are analyzed in depth. Thereby the impact of the NFA, i.e. its mere “threat” of further intercantonalization as well as its actual entry into force, is evaluated with regard to cantonal parliamentary reforms. Subnational legislatures are studied by focusing on adaptations of formal rules towards better parliamentary participation and scrutiny on the one hand and the effective usage of these rules on the other hand. Special attention is not only paid to contextual and institutional factors but also to the roles of political actors furthering or hindering new rules in form and practice in the respective cases.