To Salvage Its Democracy, Israel Must Be Divided Into Cantons | The Huffington Post To Salvage Its Democracy, Israel Must Be Divided Into Cantons 05/27/2015 09:00 am ET | Updated May 27, 2016 Carlo Strenger Professor of Psychology and Philosophy, Tel Aviv University ASSOCIATED PRESS It turns out that liberal democracy has its limits; it can't bridge yawning gaps -- even within Israel's Jewish community, for example. For a number of years I have argued that Israel's internal differences -- not only between Jews and Arabs, but among Jews -- are so large that the country should be divided into cantons linked in a federative structure. Last year, with Haaretz's Judd Yadid, I presented a detailed proposal on how such a cantonal structure could look. The first weeks of Benjamin Netanyahu's new government show that such a proposal is timelier than ever. Barely sworn in, its statements, policy proposals and steps show that it might use its tenure, brief as it may be, to irreparably damage Israel's democracy.

I'd like to present an unorthodox explanation for why Netanyahu's team is doing this, and why a federative structure might salvage Israel's democracy. Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan has taken the Knesset podium to defend his ministry's decision to provide separate buses for Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank. But the government halted this plan because it realized the catastrophic international repercussions of a step reeking of apartheid -- even when rationalized by security measures -- not because it considers the move grievously wrong. (Incidentally, the army was strictly against the separate bus policy.) Likud's Tzipi Hotovely is deputy foreign minister, which, given that there is no foreign minister, means she is acting foreign minister. Hotovely has told the Foreign Ministry staff that Israeli ambassadors should tell foreign governments the truth -- that God gave all of Israel to the Jewish people and therefore it is simply ours by right. The new culture minister, Miri Regev, has said she does not intend to allow art that harms Israel's image. "If I need to censor something, I will," she said.

And the new justice, minister, Ayelet Shaked, has declared that governance must return to the people's control by working toward the abolition of the Supreme Court's ability to block legislation. Add to this that Netanyahu, who has kept the Communications Ministry under his personal command, has already taken steps to interfere with the press. For example, he is putting pressure on Channel 10, which he has tried to close down for a while now. Let me add the cherry from outside the coalition on the icing of this lovely cake: Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who single-handedly forced Netanyahu to form a coalition based on 61 MKs by not joining. He now attacks his former boss for having scheduled a meeting with Ayman Odeh, the leader of the United Arab List -- a meeting required by democratic etiquette. Lieberman called on Netanyahu to cancel the meeting because it "legitimizes the fifth column operating in the Knesset." Nothing in this potpourri of events should be surprising. The lamentations by Israeli liberals that the right has become racist and is trying to undermine democracy have been voiced for a long time -- and for good reason.

But lamentations won't help; we need to look at the facts without blinking. Hotovely genuinely believes that God gave all of Israel to the Jews. Regev deeply believes that Israeli liberals harm Israel. And Ben-Dahan has explained his hierarchy of human beings from Jewish men to Jewish women and Jewish gays -- all superior to gentiles. As for Lieberman, I'm less sure, as he's more of a consummate manipulator than an ideologue. But his rabid attacks questioning Israeli Arabs as legitimate citizens certainly reflect a strong current in Israeli society, which is why he keeps voicing them. The right vs. 'the white tribe' As a liberal I am entitled to despise the views of Ben-Dahan, Hotovely, Lieberman and Regev, but I am committed to safeguarding their right to hold them. Incidentally, I assume they despise my views, but they in turn are required to respect my freedom of thought and expression. Still, differences in core values even among Israel's Jews have become so vast as to make it nearly impossible to live in the same polity. To safeguard Israel's democracy, we need to get a deeper understanding for the reasons the right attacks democratic institutions.

The right feels that these institutions have been used to impose the views of secular liberals, who judging from the composition of the Knesset, are a minority of about one-third of the country as reflected by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni's Zionist Union, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid and Meretz. The mainstream press, the judiciary and academia are overwhelmingly liberal, so they are perceived as representing what is called "the white tribe." They therefore no longer see liberal democracy's values and institutions as impartial tools, but as the tools of the liberal Ashkenazi elites to impose their views on the majority. They do not realize that the liberal tradition since Thomas Hobbes has been devised as a structure that can enable groups with different beliefs to live in coexistence instead of perpetually threatening or fighting one another. But it turns out that liberal democracy has its limits; it can't bridge yawning gaps between totally different cultures -- and Israel seems to have arrived at such a stage. All groups feel that their way of life is threatened; we liberals have felt since Netanyahu's first government in the 1990s that we must fight for the survival of our core principles.

And much has been made of the fact that many young Israeli liberals prefer to live in Berlin because they can't take it here anymore. But let's not forget that the Hasidic Belz community last year threatened to leave Israel if its youngsters were forced to serve in the army, because this community genuinely feel that its way of life is threatened by military service. Traditionalist Mizrahim represented by Shas feel that a secular Ashkenazi elite tramples on their culture, beliefs and values. And Israeli Arabs, for very understandable reasons, feel that the country does not accord them a life of dignity and equality. What then can we do? We can continue Israel's culture wars, wearing us all down and making us miserable. Or we can say it's time to give some breathing space to one another. How a Federative Structure can Save Israel's Democracy A federative structure of provinces that roughly reflects Israel's core groups might do exactly that. The cantons should reflect existing cultural groups as well as possible, while as much power and financial resources as possible should be devolved to the regional governments. As in Switzerland, the United States and Germany, the federal government should only be entrusted with what the regional ones can't possibly do on their own.

Such a partition is less outlandish than it sounds. When it comes to education, Israel long ago acknowledged de facto that there is no sufficient common ground for coexistence. Four distinct education systems coexist in Israel: the secular, the religious-Zionist, the ultra-Orthodox (actually two ultra-Orthodox, one Ashkenazi and one Sephardi), and the Arab. In such a federative structure, Regev could fund whatever she wants in her own canton. Liberal artists could move a few kilometers away into the Aviv or Carmel provinces, where they could express themselves freely. Vice versa the many members of Naftali Bennett's Habayit Hayehudi who are offended by homosexuality; they could easily move a few kilometers into Yehuda Province, where there would probably be no gay parties or parades. We could finally stop bickering about which rabbis can conduct weddings legally, whether you need a rabbi at all, whether pigs can be raised and pork sold, and whether you can sell leavened bread during Passover. The provinces would determine these issues based on their majorities; the federation would not be involved.

I know that this proposal has scant chance of being implemented, and I have no illusion that it will solve all of Israel's vast problems. But I mean it very seriously. Israelis are wary. Not only does Israel face genuine external threats in an environment that becomes more chaotic by the year, but Israelis feel that instead of finding a safe haven in their own country, they need to fight for their identities and way of life. While we can't make the external threats go away, we might at least live and let each other live. More: Which European country is divided into areas called Cantons - My wiki My wiki Which European country is divided into areas called Cantons Answer Switzerland A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically important, are those of Switzerland. As the constituents of the Swiss Confederation, theoretically (and historically) the Swiss cantons are semi-sovereign states. The term is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district (from which "Cantonment" is also derived).

Switzerland Cantons Buy data Donate Updates: Update 15 to the GEC, the successor to the FIPS standard, is dated 2014-03-31. It gives the names of cantons in various languages. It also changes the codes of two cantons, producing ambiguous codes. This is an error that will be corrected soon. ISO 3166-2 Newsletter number I-5, dated 2003-09-05, shows a change in spelling for two Swiss half-cantons. As they are presented in the Swiss constitution, the two parts of Appenzell are spelled "Appenzell Ausserrhoden" and "Appenzell Innerrhoden". Previously, under Federal Law 1995-10-06, they were "Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden" and "Appenzell Inner-Rhoden", respectively. Update 8 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes, the successor to FIPS standard 10-4, is dated 2012-05-01.

It changes the name of one of the half-cantons from "Ausser-Rhoden" to "Appenzell Ausserrhoden", and analogously for the other one. Country overview: FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. NUTS: Codes from the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Population: 2010-12-31 census, based on population registers. Lng: Majority language(s): French (f), German (g), Italian (i), Romansh (r) Capital: English name of capital. Name is also given in French, German, or Italian, when different from English. Exception: when canton has same name as capital, look under "Other names of subdivisions," because the foreign names of the capital will be the same. The NUTS code system also defines groupings of cantons. All the cantons whose NUTS codes begin with the same four characters (for example, CH02-) can be designated as a group using those four characters. Here are the descriptions of the seven level-two NUTS regions of Switzerland.

Description CH04 "Rï¿½gion lï¿½manique" refers to the region around Lac Lï¿½man, which English speakers know better as Lake Geneva. Postal codes: Switzerland uses a four-digit postal code (Liechtenstein is also part of the system). The postal code areas are not directly correlated with canton boundaries. The prefix CH- is often used on international mail within Europe to designate Swiss postal codes. Further subdivisions: See the Districts of Switzerland page. Technically, Switzerland is divided into 23 cantons, of which three are further divided into half-cantons (French, demi-cantons; German, halb-kantone): Appenzell into Outer Rhodes and Inner Rhodes; Basel into Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt; and Unterwalden into Nidwalden and Obwalden. The cantons are the territorial divisions. Switzerland is also divided into 26 states, of which 20 are coextensive with the 20 undivided cantons, and six are coextensive with the half-cantons. The states are the administrative divisions.

On a lower level, the cantons are divided into districts, which are further subdivided into communes. Territorial extent: Appenzell Inner Rhodes consists of three separate areas, each of which lies on the border between Appenzell Outer Rhodes and Sankt Gallen. Appenzell as a whole is entirely surrounded by Sankt Gallen, although at one point Sankt Gallen is only a corridor less than one kilometer wide between Appenzell and Austria. Bern has five exclaves. There are two tiny ones surrounded by Fribourg and containing Mï¿½nchenwiler and Clavaleyres. There are also three that were created in 1979, when Jura was split from Bern. Fribourg has four exclaves: one tiny one surrounded by Bern, two surrounded by Vaud, and the largest, around Estavayer-le-Lac, surrounded by Vaud on three sides and Lake Neuchï¿½tel on the fourth. Geneva has two exclaves. One tiny one is surrounded by Vaud.

A larger one nearby is surrounded on three sides by Vaud and the fourth by Lac Lï¿½man (Lake Geneva), where it has a water border with France. Obwalden consists of two separate sections separated by Nidwalden, and both bordering on Bern. The smaller one contains Engelberg. Schaffhausen has three separate areas. They are all predominantly on the right bank of the Rhine. The first one, heading downstream from the Bodensee (Lake Constance), contains Ramsen and Stein am Rhein (and has a tiny extension on the left bank). The second, main section contains Schaffhausen city. The third and smallest contains Buchberg. Solothurn has three exclaves. The ones containing Kleinlï¿½tzel and Mariastein are on the French border, separated from the main part of Solothurn by part of Bern. The tiny one containing Steinhof is surrounded by Bern. Thurgau has a small exclave containing the town of Horn, although if territorial waters in the Bodensee are taken into account, the exclave may be connected to the main section.

Vaud has one exclave around Avenches, separated from it by Fribourg, but also bordering on Bern and having a water boundary with Neuchï¿½tel. for Switzerland lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: Aargau: from the river Aar and German gau: district Appenzell: from Latin abbatis cella: abbot's chamber Basel-Landschaft: Rural Basel, from Ancient Greek basileia: royal (was fort of Emperor Valentinian I) Basel-Stadt: Basel City Bern: possibly from Indo-European ber: swampy place, or from Italian Verona (city name); see also Berlin, Germany Fribourg: German frei: free, burg: fort Geneva: Indo-European gen: bend, ava: water Glarus: possibly from Latin claris: clear, for a village in a clearing Graubï¿½nden: German graue bund: gray league, a league devoted to resistance to the Hapsburg Empire Jura: after the Jura Mountains, from Gallic iuris: wooded mountain Lucerne: probably after Saint Leodegar, the city's patron, but possibly Latin lucerna: lantern Neuchï¿½tel: Latin Novum Castellum: new castle Nidwalden: German nieder: lower, Wald: forest Obwalden: German ober: upper, Wald: forest Sankt Gallen: site of an abbey founded by Saint

 Gall in 612 Schaffhausen: Old German Sciphï¿½sen: ship houses, because boats in Lake Constance trade were sheltered there Solothurn: Latin Salodurum, from durum: fort Ticino: after the Ticino River Valais: Latin Vallis Poenina: pennine valley Vaud: Latin Comitatus Valdensis, possibly from valdum: defensible spot Change history: 1979-01-01: Jura canton split from Bern.

The basis of the split was religious and linguistic (Jura is predominantly French-speaking, Roman Catholic). 2000-01-01: Official spelling of the Appenzell half-cantons changed from Ausser-Rhoden and Inner-Rhoden to Ausserrhoden and Innerrhoden, respectively. Other names of subdivisions: Rudolf Schmid writes that the Swiss government adopted a new official naming practice in 2001. When a geographical entity has more than one official language, its name is to be written in all languages, separated by slashes (/), ordered according to the magnitude of the area where each language is spoken, in descending order. For example, in Bern canton the greatest area speaks German, but there are some French-speaking areas. The canton name is Bern in German and Berne in French. Therefore, it should be written "Bern/Berne".

Aargau: Argovia (Italian, Romansh); Argï¿½via (Portuguese); Argovie (French) Appenzell Outer Rhodes: Appenzell Ausserrhoden (German); Appenzell Ausser-Rhoden (obsolete); Appenzell dadens (Romansh); Appenzell Rhodes Extï¿½rieures (French); Appenzello Esterno (Italian) Appenzell Inner Rhodes: Appenzell Innerrhoden (German); Appenzell Inner-Rhoden (obsolete); Appenzell dador (Romansh); Appenzell Rhodes Intï¿½rieures (French); Appenzello Interno (Italian) Basel-Landschaft: Bï¿½le-Campagne (French); Basel-Country, Baselland, Basel-Land (variant); Basilea campagna (Italian); Basilea Campaï¿½a (Spanish); Basilea-Champagna (Romansh); Basilï¿½ia regiï¿½o (Portuguese) Basel-Stadt: Bï¿½le-Ville (French); Basel-City, Basel-Town (variant); Basilea-Citad (Romansh); Bas

ilea Ciudad (Spanish); Basilea cittï¿½ (Italian); Basilï¿½ia cidade (Portuguese) Bern: Berna (Italian, Portuguese, Romansh, Spanish); Berne (Finnish, French) Fribourg: Freiburg (Dutch, German, Swedish); Friburg (Romansh); Friburgo (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish) Geneva: Cenevre (Turkish); Genebra (Portuguese); Geneve (Finnish); Genï¿½ve (Dutch, French, Norwegian, Swedish); Genevra (Romansh); Genf (German); Ginebra (Spanish); Ginevra (Italian); Женева (Russian) Glarus: Glaris (Finnish, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish); Glarona (Italian); Glaruna (Romansh) Graubï¿½nden: Grigioni (Italian); Grischun (Romansh); Grisons (French) Jura: Giura (Italian, Romansh) Lucerne: Lucerna (Italian, Portuguese, Romansh, Spanish); Luzern (Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Swedish) Ne

uchï¿½tel: Neuenburg (Dutch, German) Nidwalden: Nidvaldo (Italian); Nidwald, Unterwalden-le-Bas (French); Nidwaldo (Italian-variant); Sutsilvania (Romansh) Obwalden: Obvaldo (Italian); Obwald, Unterwalden-le-Haut (French); Obwaldo (Italian-variant); Sursilvania (Romansh) Sankt Gallen: Saint-Gall (Finnish, French, Portuguese, Spanish); San Gallo (Italian); Son Gagl (Romansh) Schaffhausen: Schaffhouse (French); Schaffusa (Romansh); Sciaffusa (Italian) Schwyz: Schwytz (French-variant); Svitto (Italian); Sviz (Romansh) Solothurn: Soletta (Italian); Soleure (French); Soleuro (Spanish); Soloturn (Romansh) Thurgau: Thurgovie (French); Turgovia (Italian, Romansh, Spanish); Turgï¿½via (Portuguese) Ticino: Tesino (Spanish); Tessin (Dan

ish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Romansh, Swedish) Valais: Vallais (Romansh); Vallese (Italian); Wallis (Dutch, German) Vaud: Vad (Romansh); Waadt, Waadtland (German) Zug: Zoug (French); Zugo (Italian) Zurich: Turitg (Romansh); Zï¿½rich (Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Swedish); Zurigo (Italian); Zï¿½rih (Turkish-variant); Zurique (Portuguese); Цюрих (Russian) Population history: Switzerland - History, Economics, Geography Highest Point: Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet (4,634 m) Lowest Point: Lake Maggiore at 639 feet (195 m) Switzerland is a landlocked country in Western Europe.

It is one of the richest countries in the world and it has consistently ranked high for its quality of life. Switzerland is known for its history of being neutral during wartimes.Switzerland is the home of many international organizations like the World Trade Organization but it is not a member of the European Union . History of Switzerland Switzerland was originally inhabited by the Helvetians and the area that makes up today's country became a part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century B.C.E. When the Roman Empire began to decline, Switzerland was invaded by several German tribes. In 800 Switzerland became a part of Charlemagne's Empire. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World Shortly thereafter control of the country was passed through the Holy Roman emperors. In the 13th century, new trade routes across the Alps opened and Switzerland's mountain valleys became important and were given some independence as cantons . In 1291, the Holy Roman Emperor died and according to the U.S. Department of State, the ruling families of several mountain communities signed a charter to keep peace and keep independent rule.

From 1315 to 1388, Swiss Confederates were involved in several conflicts with the Habsburgs and their borders expanded. In 1499, the Swiss Confederates gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Following its independence and a defeat by the French and Venetians in 1515, Switzerland ended its policies of expansion. Throughout the 1600s, there were several European conflicts but the Swiss remained neutral. From 1797 to 1798, Napoleon annexed part of the Swiss Confederation and a centrally governed state was established. In 1815 the Congress of Vienna preserved the country's status as a permanently armed neutral state. In 1848 a short civil war between Protestant and Catholic led to the formation of a Federal State modeled after the United States . A Swiss Constitution was then drafted and was amended in 1874 to ensure cantonal independence and democracy. In the 19th century, Switzerland underwent industrialization and it remained neutral during World War I . During World War II , Switzerland also remained neutral despite pressure from surrounding countries. After WWII, Switzerland began to grow its economy.

It did not join the Council of Europe until 1963 and it is still not a part of the European Union. In 2002 it joined the United Nations. Government of Switzerland Today Switzerland's government is formally a confederation but it is more similar in structure to a federal republic. It has an executive branch with a chief of state and a head of government that is filled by the President and a bicameral Federal Assembly with the Council of States and the National Council for its legislative branch. Switzerland's judicial branch is made up of a Federal Supreme Court. The country is divided into 26 cantons for local administration and each has a high degree of independence and each is equal in status. People of Switzerland Switzerland is unique in its demography because it is made up of three linguistic and cultural regions. These are German, French and Italian. As a result, Switzerland is not a nation based on one ethnic identity; instead it is based on its common historical background and shared governmental values. The official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romansh. Economics and Land Use in Switzerland Switzerland is one of the wealthiest nations in the world and it has a very strong market economy.

Unemployment is low and its labor force is also very highly skilled. Agriculture makes up a small part of its economy and the main products include grains, fruit, vegetables, meat and eggs. The largest industries in Switzerland are machinery, chemicals, banking and insurance. In addition, expensive goods such as watches and precision instruments are also produced in Switzerland. Tourism is also a very large industry in the country due to its natural setting in the Alps. Geography and Climate of Switzerland Switzerland is located in Western Europe, to the east of France and to the north of Italy. It is known for its mountain landscapes and small mountain villages. The topography of Switzerland is varied but it is mainly mountainous with the Alps in the south and the Jura in the northwest. There is also a central plateau with rolling hills and plains and there are many large lakes throughout the country. Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet (4,634 m) is Switzerland's highest point but there are many other peaks that are at very high elevations as well - the Matterhorn near the town of Zermatt in Valais is the most famous. The climate of Switzerland is temperate but it varies with altitude.

Most of the country has cold and rainy to snowy winters and cool to warm and sometimes humid summers. Bern, Switzerland's capital has an average January low temperature of 25.3˚F (-3.7˚C) and an average July high of 74.3˚F (23.5˚C). To learn more about Switzerland, visit the Switzerland page in the Geography and Maps section of this website. References Central Intelligence Agency. (9 November 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Switzerland. Retrieved from: Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Switzerland: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: United States Department of State. (31 March 2010). Switzerland. Retrieved from: Wikipedia.com. (16 November 2010). Switzerland - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: Education in Switzerland Education on the Internet 1. Introduction: Since Switzerland has no natural resources, education and knowledge have become very important resources. Therefore Switzerland claims to have one of the world's best education systems.

Because the cantons are responsible for educational services (kindergarten, schools, universities), education may vary significantly between cantons. For example, some cantons start to teach the first foreign language at fourth grade, while others start at seventh grade. This can turn moving with children between cantons into a nightmare. In Switzerland, most children go to public schools. Private schools usually are expensive and people tend to think that students of private schools probably didn't make it at the public school. Public schools include "Kindergarten", "Volksschule" (elementary school), "Gymnasium" (secondary school) and "Universitäten" (universities). Most municipalities provide kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Most cantons provide at least one secondary school. There are eleven universities in Switzerland, nine are run by cantons, two are run by the confederation. After elementary school, kids may either choose to go to secondary school or to start an apprenticeship. In the later case, after finishing the apprenticeship, it is still possible to start an academic career at either a secondary school or a so called "Fachhochschule" (FH) (university of applied sciences). To table of contents 2.

Schools: In Switzerland, every child must attend at least the elementary school. Our country provides various schools at different levels. Because the cantons are responsible for the educational system, the names, the subjects, the starting age of the students and the duration vary significantly between the cantons. The rest of this document therefore focuses on how it works in the canton Zürich . 2.1 Kindergarten: Unlike school, children may or may not be required to attend "Kindergarten", depending on the region. However, attending Kindergarten becomes more an more mandatory and most children do go to Kindergarten. They do not learn how to read and write but shall develop their social capabilities and get used to sit quiet for a while and pay attention to the teacher. Children may attend Kindergarten for one year or two years. Because they are supposed to start school at the age of seven, they go to Kindergarten when they are five and six years old. 2.2 "Volksschule" (Elementary school): The "Volksschule" (elementary school) is mandatory for all Swiss children. They must either attend the public school or must go to a private school.

Elementary school starts at the age of seven and lasts at least eight, but usually nine years. Some schools offer an additional year for kids who haven't either yet decided what to do after school, haven't found a job to start an apprenticeship or haven't yet reached the age to start what they would like to do. The "Volksschule" is divided into "Primarschule" and "Oberstufenschule": In Zürich, "Primarschule" lasts six years. Usually, the children have only one teacher who teaches all subjects. "Oberstufenschule" lasts three years. Usually, there are at least two teachers for each class, one teaches some, the second the other subjects. There may be other teachers for some special subjects like gym, needlework, cooking and so on. "Oberstufenschule" itself is divided into three different levels: They used to be called "Sekundarschule", "Realschule" and "Oberschule", but there were some recent changes to that. Today, the schools still provide three different levels, but students will be assigned individually to one level per subject.

This is true for major subjects such as math, native language and first foreign language only; all other subjects are taught per class. "Sekundarschule" is the highest level. Some apprenticeships require this level of education. It is particularly required if a student wants to attend a " Gymnasium " (secondary school) afterwards. "Sekundarschule" includes math, geometry, native language (German in case of Zürich), first foreign language (french in Zürich), geography, history and more. In addition, students may attend other subjects like a second foreign language, usually English or Italian. "Realschule" basically teaches the same subjects but not to the same extend. "Realschule" takes care of students who have difficulties in learning. After "Primarschule", students can also choose to go to " Gymnasium " (secondary school) directly without going to the "Oberstufenschule"; in this case, the "Gymnasium" takes 6½ years instead of 4½ years (see also curriculum ).

2.3 "Berufslehre" (Apprenticeship): In Switzerland, most kids start a "Berufslehre" (apprenticeship) after elementary school . Depending on the profession, an apprenticeship takes two to four years. Apprenticeships include all kinds of professions, from handicraft (mechanician, carpenter, baker, hairdresser etc.) to office worker (secretary, bookkeeper, IT specialist etc.). Apprentice will get trained at a company or organization, but also attend school for one or two days a week. Some companies also provide additional classes on their own. After apprenticeship and depending on their education, young people can either start a job or join other schools for further education, including so called " Fachhochschulen " (previously known as "Höhere Technische Lehranstalt" (HTL), University of Applied Sciences).

2.4 "Gymnasium" (Secondary school): There are various types of "Gymnasia" (secondary schools) with different emphasis and major subjects: The "Mathematisches und Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of math and science) focuses on math and science, but teaches German and two foreign languages as well (usually French and English or Italian). The "Neusprachliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of modern languages) focuses on modern languages such as German, French, Italian and English, but includes some math and science as well. The "Altsprachliches Gymnasium" (secondary school of ancient languages) focuses on Latin plus at least two other languages, but includes math and science subjects as well. There is also the "Wirtschaftsgymnasium" (secondary school of economics) that focuses on economy. Recently, new types of "Gymnasia" have been introduced, such as the "Musisches Gymnasium" (secondary school of art) which focuses on music and art and the "Sportgymnasium" (secondary school of sports) which emphasis on sportive activities.

All these secondary schools last either six and a half or four and a half years and lead to the so called "Eidgenössische Matura" (federal graduation diploma) which is recognized at all universities in Switzerland and at most universities in foreign countries. The "Fachmittelschule" (upper secondary school) also leads to a graduation diploma. Typically, a student of the "Fachmittelschule" would become a teacher afterwards, but she or he is not limited to that subject. Even after an apprenticeship , it is still possible to get a graduation diploma at a so called "Maturitätsschule" (graduation diploma school). After finishing such a "Maturitätsschule", a student can attend an university like a student who attended a "Gymnasium". This path in the educational curriculum is known as "Zweiter Bildungsweg" (secondary educational path). 2.5 "Universität" (University): There are eleven "Universitäten" (universities) in Switzerland, nine of them are run by a canton , two are run by the confederation .

In general, the universities run by the cantons provide non-technical subjects, whereas the universities run by the confederation provide technical subjects. The later are therefore called "Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology". To be able to attend an university, a student must have finished a " Gymnasium " and own a graduation diploma. The study at an university usually lasts four and a half years. The following universities are run by a canton: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) The two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology mentioned above are currently adapting their education process to the so called "Bologna declaration", an attempt of the European universities to align their educational program to make it not only easier, but first of all possible for a student to change from one university in one country to another university in another country during his or her study. The education is now broken up into two parts similar to the education in the USA: - a bachelor study (three years) - a masters study (one and a half or two years) After a successful completion of the masters study, one can start working on a thesis in order to get a doctor title. This takes usually three to four years.

2.6 "Fachhochschulen" (University of Applied Sciences): After an apprenticeship , a young person can still start an academic career. Depending on the profession, she or he may attend a "Fachhochschule" (university of applied sciences). A university of applied sciences provides a similar education as the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology but not to the same extend. While an engineer ETH (graduate of one of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology) has a stronger theoretical background, an engineer FH (graduate of one of the university of applied sciences) usually has more practical experiences because she or he had finished an apprenticeship which lasted four years. The study lasts three and a half years. As an alternative to a full-time study, an employee may also attend a so called "Abendtechnikum" (evening college). She or he continues to work, but attends school at night and on Saturdays. Some employers allow students either to do some homework at the office or provide some other easements. The evening college lasts six years.

"Fachhochschulen" (FH) (previously known as "Höhere Technische Lehranstalten" (HTL)) are often also referred to as "Ingenieurschule" (school for engineers) and are spread all over Switzerland. Recently, technical collages of most regions have started to join forces, some have even merged. Therefore, the list below is most likely neither complete nor perfectly correct: Use cantons in a sentence | cantons sentence examples LINK / CITE ADD TO WORD LIST The stories of his cruelty and oppression in the Swiss cantons first appear in the 16th century, and are now regarded as legendary. The provinces are divided into cantons and subdivided into communes.

Examples may perhaps occasionally still be found in the uninhabited forests of Hungary and Transylvania, and occasionally in Spain and Greece, as well as in the Caucasus and in some of the Swiss cantons, but the original race has in most countries interbred with the domestic cat wherever the latter has penetrated." Aisne is divided into five arrondissements - St Quentin and Vervins in the north, Laon in the centre, and Soissons and CIA, teau-Thierry in the south - and contains 37 cantons and 841 communes. 2911 cantons and 36,222 communes. Hence, even in countries where the Roman Church is established, such as Belgium, Italy, the Catholic states of Germany and cantons of Switzerland, most of the Latin republics of America, and the province of Quebec, and a fortiori where this Church is not established, there is now no discipline over the laity, except penitential, and no jurisdiction exercised in civil suits, except possibly the matrimonial questions of princes (of which there was an example in the case of the reigning prince of Monaco).

Aube is divided into 5 arrondissements with 26 cantons and 446 communes. The ultimate cause of the predominant form of federal government may be the geographical diversity of the country, as in the cantons occupying the once isolated mountain valleys of Switzerland, the racial diversity of the people, as in Austria-Hungary, or merely political expediency, as in republics of the American type. By the departments of Savoie and Haute-Savoie and the Swiss cantons Geneva and Vaud. Ain is divided into five arrondissements - those of Bourg and Trevoux in the west, and those of Gex, Nantua and Belley in the east; containing in all 36 cantons and 455 communes. We have seen that this was the case at Athens; it was largely the case in the democratic cantons of Switzerland; indeed the nobility of Rome itself, after the privileges of the patricians were abolished, rested on no other foundation. He extended his labours to the cantons of Neuchatel and Vaud.

He intervened in the French religious wars, and also fought with Bern and other Swiss cantons, and on the murder of Henry III. The department has Chartres for its capital, and is divided into the arrondissements of Chartres, Chateaudun, Dreux and Nogent-le-Rotrou (24 cantons and 426 communes). Their monotony is varied only by the fruitful river-valleys and poljes, or upland hollows, where the smaller towns and villages are grouped; the districts or cantons thus formed are walled round by a natural rampart of limestone. For administrative purposes the immediate possessions of the sultan are divided into vilayets (provinces), which are again subdivided into sanjaks or mutessarifliks (arrondissements), these into kazas (cantons), and the kazas into nahies (parishes or communes).

The administration of kazas, or cantons, was usually entrusted to the cadis and the holders of the more important fiefs; the sanjaks, or departments, were ruled by alai beys or mir-i-livas (colonels or brigadiers), pashas with one horsetail; the vilayets, or provinces, by beylerbeys or mir-i-mirans (lord of lords), pashas with two horse-tails; these were all originally military officers, who, in addition to their administrative functions, were charged with the duty of mustering and commanding the feudal levies in war time. Allier is divided into the arrondissements of Moulins, Gannat, Lapalisse and Montlugon (29 cantons, 321 communes). It still survived in certain cantons of the Alps in the 5th century, and clung to life with more tenacity in its Eastern home. The capital is Carcassonne, and the department is divided into the four arrondissements of Carcassonne, Limoux, Narbonne and Castelnaudary, with 31 cantons and 439 communes.

Leaving out of account the innumerable glacier streams that swell its volume above the Lake of Constance, the most important affluents to its upper course are the Wutach, the Alb and the Wiese, descending on the right from the Black Forest, and the Aar, draining several Swiss cantons on the left. He was here practically at the meeting-point of four distinct jurisdictions - Geneva, the canton Vaud, Sardinia and France, while other cantons were within easy reach; and he bought other houses dotted about these territories, so as never to be without a refuge close at hand in case of sudden storms. At Les Delices he set up a considerable establishment, which his great wealth made him able easily to afford. The native settlements consisted of pagi (cantons) containing a number of vici (villages), the majority of the large towns being of Roman origin. The bishopric still exists, with jurisdiction over the Cantons of the Grisons, Glarus, Zurich, and the three Forest Cantons, as well as the Austrian principality of Liechtenstein.

The other, territorially distinct from it for reasons of statecraft, was the Temple of Roma and Augustus, to which the inhabitants of the 64 Gallic cantons in the three Roman provinces of Aquitania, Lugudunensis and Belgica - the so-called Tres Galliae - sent delegates every summer to hold games and otherwise celebrate the worship of the emperor which was supposed to knit the provincials to Rome. Tegea was one of the most ancient cities of Peloponnesus; tradition ascribed its concentration (synoecism) out of eight or nine primitive cantons to a mythical king Aleus. The bishop was a prince of the Holy Roman Empire, while his diocese was one of the largest in Germany, including (shortly before the Reformation) most of Baden and Wurttemberg, and 12 out of the 22 Swiss cantons (all the region on the right bank of the Aar, save the portions included in the diocese of Coire) - in it were comprised 350 monasteries, 1760 benefices and 17,000 priests.

There is a chamber of deputies with 48 members elected by the cantons (12 in number) for six years, half the body being elected every three years. It is divided into three arrondissements (29 cantons, 292 communes) cognominal with the towns of Bourges, SaintAmand-Mont-Rond, and Sancerre, of which the first is the capital, the seat of an archbishop and of a court of appeal and headquarters of the VIII. Some other towns, including Bern, followed Zurich's example, but the Forest cantons refused to accept the innovations. From 1654 to 1658 Pell acted as Cromwell's political agent to the Protestant cantons of Switzerland. The progress of the Reformation attracted the attention of all Switzerland, but there was a strong opposition to it, especially in the five Forest Cantons: Lucerne, Zug, Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden; and the Zurichers felt it necessary to form a league in its defence.

No less than 350 ecclesiastics came to Bern from the various cantons to hear the pleadings, which began on the 2nd of January 1523 and lasted nineteen days. He had enunciated in his theses the far-reaching new principle that the congregation, and not the hierarchy, was the representative of the Church; and he sought henceforward to reorganize the Swiss constitution on the principles of representative democracy so as to reduce the wholly disproportionate voting power which, till then, the Forest Cantons had exercised. The long-felt strain between opposing cantons led at last to civil war. In February 1531 Zwingli himself urged the Evangelical Swiss to attack the Five Cantons, and on the oth of October there was fought at Kappel a battle, disastrous to the Protestant cause and fatal to its leader. Argovie), one of the more northerly Swiss cantons, comprising the lower course of the river Aar, whence its name. It is one of the least mountainous Swiss cantons, forming part of a great table-land, to the north of the Alps and the east of the Jura, above which rise low hills.

A system of conciliation, similar to the Prussian, exists in Italy (laws of the 16th of June 1892, and the 26th of December 1892) and in some of the Swiss cantons (law of the 29th of April 1883). Thus a legal tie between Geneva and two of the Swiss cantons was established, while the duke did not any longer venture to annoy the Genevese, as he clung to his fine barony of Vaud. That alliance was finally renewed in 1558, while in 1560 the Romanist cantons made one with the duke of Savoy, a zealous supporter of the old faith. During the 17th and 18th centuries, while the Romanist majority of the Swiss cantons steadily refused to accept Geneva as even a subordinate member of the Confederation, the city itself was distracted on several occasions by attempts of the citizens, as a whole, to gain some share in the aristocratic government of the town, though these attempts were only partially successful.

Ardennes is divided into five arrondissements: Mezieres, Rocroi, Rethel, Vouziers and Sedan, with 31 cantons and 503 communes. Caesar now reduced Gaul to the form of a province, fixing the tribute at 40,000,000 sesterces (350,000), and dealing liberally with the conquered tribes, whose cantons were not broken up. The state of Nuevo Leon, however, is divided into municipios only, while some other states use entirely different titles for the divisions, the larger being described as departamentos, cantons and municipios, and the smaller as partidos, directorial and vecindarios rurales. The constitution of the Galatian state is described by Strabo: conformably to Gaulish custom, each tribe was divided into four cantons (Gr. Terpapxiac), each governed by a chief ("tetrarch") of its own with a judge under him, whose powers were unlimited except in cases of murder, which were tried before a council of 300 drawn from the twelve cantons and meeting at a holy place called Drynemeton.

It is much employed for house-building; most of the picturesque log-houses in Vaud and the adjacent cantons are built of squared larch trunks, and derive their fine brown tint from the hardened resin that slowly exudes from the wood after long exposure to the summer sun; the wooden shingles, that in Switzerland supply the place of tiles, are also frequently of larch. Its capital is Foix; it comprises the arrondissements of Foix, St Girons and Pamiers, with 20 cantons and 33 8 communes. In the same way the federation of Swiss cantons, of the states of the North American Union and of the present German Empire have served as means of reducing the number of possible parties to war, and consequently that of its possible occasions. As we talked about that Switzerland is divided into cantons It - IR - 310 View Full Document constitution or in the federal law, citizens can request a voting about it. As we talked about that Switzerland is divided into cantons. It consists of 23 cantons and 3 of them are split states. Each canton has the districts with the legislative, executive, judicial authority.

Interestingly, the 3 cantons Appenzell, Glarus and Unterwalden do not have elections and voting. They use an out door assembly of all its citizens where people come together and raise their hands for a decision where every person can proclaim his ideas. Each canton has its cantonal constitution including education, transportation and social institutions task. The political stability of Switzerland is outstanding according to Linder (1994). For many years, the Federal Council, the seven member head of Swiss government created a very successful coalition between the same four parties. The absence of serious economic problem and social conflicts is the source of this stable political system. By not 4 This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document intervening in international conflicts, Switzerland avoided the coming conflicts for the country (Irelan, 1994). But it would be wrong o say that Switzerland has a past without conflicts. As Switzerland is not a homogenous state with different ethnic groups, different languages and different religions, the process of nation building was not as easy as it seems. There was a civil war in the beginning of the political federation between Catholics and Protestants.

Despite its neutrality during the First World War, the elites in Switzerland split into two, German speaking supported the German side whereas the French speaking identified with France. During the industrial revolution, Switzerland faced economic inequalities and class struggle between capitalist and workers (Linder, 1994). So a very crucial question comes up after these facts. How Switzerland became a nation state and grows to be modern and industrialized nation and improved the practices of human rights? Wolf Linder, in his book “Swiss Democracy”, echoes the view of Karl Deutsch. He argues that Switzerland has become a nation state with his own identity through its political institution. The role of the political institutions was essential in uniting people with four languages, two religions and different regional cultures. The country turns the disadvantages of the diversity into advantages with his political system. That’s why it is important to know about the administrative divisions and how they deal with the various cultures. So what can we derive from this is that political stability and democracy are very crucial in improving human rights. The idea of democracy were brought to Switzerland through French Revolution, however Switzerland had a cultural heritage that led its people to accommodate to the democracy. For centuries, Swiss cantons knew the collective decision-making. What they were need was the sovereignty.

Democratization began in 1831 and swept through cantons. Because their old regimes were elitists, one can think that democratization could eliminate the power of elites, however Linder (1994) says that: “Democratization 5 This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Koç University IR 310 - Spring 2008 Rebuild in Iraq 1 "A true warrior knows that the best war is the one which is never papeiraq

Question: Which country is divided into cantons?
Answer: Switzerland