Facteurs de l'abstentionnisme en Suisse

Knowledge on a Democratic “Silence”: Conflicting Expertise on the Decline in Voter Turnout in Postwar Switzerland (1940s–1980s)

“…34 Girod, what mattered was thus "not to gather numbers, but to shed light on human behavior;" due to its federal structure, Switzerland thus constituted a "natural laboratory" in which to do so within different political constellations. 36 At a crucial time for the institutionalization of their disciplines, such a positivist perspective on political behavior assured Swiss sociologists and political scientists scholarly legitimacy, as well as being in sync with the behaviorist orientation of Anglo-American political scientists. 37 Beyond their varied sources of inspirations (Girod partly followed André Siegfried and the French tradition of electoral geography), they mirrored the preference expressed by their colleagues abroad for individual polling to better understand the psychological "motivations" of voters.…”

“…38 Comparing turnout rates for parliamentary elections among Western democracies demonstrated that Switzerland, together with the USA, was "far from exemplary regarding [voting] assiduity." 39 To understand the motivations of non-voters, Jürg Steiner and Girod led survey studies interviewing voters and non-voters around the country. Even if they did not always refer to the international scholarship, their conclusions reflect a common understanding of political participation centered on "legitimate" political activities, particularly voting.…”

“…41 According to Girod, nonvoting was generally not a "deliberate and well-decided act" of rejection, but was to be expected from "personalities who have little energy, little curiosity and who either live in a small, cozy and attractive personal universe (average citizen) or in a particularly disadvantaged social environment, that does not share the interests of the broader community and that is not well organized to assert its claims (agricultural workers, low-level employees, etc.)." 42 Indeed, as a poll commissioned by the Agrarian Party concluded in 1962, non-voters were essentially "passive" citizens who tended to "retreat" into the private sphere. 43 This explanation thus expanded the gender-based division between private and public, which played a central role in the debate over female suffrage, by differentiating between men.…”

“…This issue was only temporary in the case of youngsters, until they were able to fully engage in "adult life," by which Girod meant "professional activities, marriage, children, etc." 44 But it was possibly also a generalized urban phenomenon, which could account for the overall lower turnout rates observed in cities. Girod and Steiner thus started linking the general decline in turnout with the ongoing suburbanization of the country, particularly of the non-mountainous corridor from Geneva to St. Gallen.…”