Abstract

The author adopts a normative and institutional approach to delineate the institutions of direct local-level democracy. Starting with analysis of its essential principles, he reconstructs the complex system of direct local-level democracy in Switzerland. The survey begins with the Commune, the base unit of political organization, which is analysed in its various types. Then examined is communal autonomy, which is the distinctive feature of the Swiss Commune. The essay concludes with discussion of the communal organization, which seems marked by a dichotomy imbued with history, in that the cantonal laws on deliberative powers are inspired by two opposing concepts. Only at this point does the author describe the main institutions of direct democracy at the local level.