Grüezi Amerika. Views from the Sister Republic

We already seem to have forgotten it, but it has only been weeks that President Donald J. Trump federalized the National Guard to re-establish order in the city of Los Angeles amidst protests against deportations of undocumented immigrants. What L.A. mayor Karen Bass and California’s Governor Gavin Newsom condemned as a presidential abuse of power, Republican lawmakers in California considered a n...

Today, Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 - or do they? As you can suspect from such a rhetorical question, the answer is "not quite." In fact, the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, but it was only signed later, on August 2, 1776. In this very short episode, we take a look at the history of Independence Day. Further reading: The Declar...

It’s one of America’s most popular political myths: the idea that George Washington considered the Senate necessary as a “legislative cooling saucer.” Just as tea or coffee had to be poured on the saucer to get its temperature down, the Senate was needed to reflect on legislation and be the wiser of the chambers. The idea seems more appealing today than ever, but one wonders how much the Senate st...

Since the early 18th Century, an estimated 300,000 Swiss emigrated across the Atlantic and settled in the United States. Thus, more than a million American citizens claim Swiss roots. There’s hardly a place that more proudly celebrates its Swiss ancestry than a small town in Wisconsin: New Glarus. Founded in 1845, the town was founded by emigrants from the Canton of Glarus with which it maintains...

It was a watershed moment: Vice President JD Vance’s speech at this year’s Munich Security Conference shook European observers. Instead of reaffirming transatlantic ties, the Vice President scolded European governments for what he perceived as the marginalization of dissident voices. The Oval Office confrontation between Presidents Zelenskyj and Trump further fanned fears that the United States mi...

For Europeans, they are a staple of their media habits: public media. Whether it’s the grand old lady BBC in the United Kingdom, or the many different stations run by Switzerland’s SRG/SSR, many Europeans rely on public broadcasting for news and entertainment. According to the EU , 48% of its citizens select public TV and radio stations as a news source they trust most. While funding cuts are not...

Few Harvard professors have been as outspoken against the Trump Administration’s attack against their University as he has: Ryan Enos has spoken at rallies, given interviews, and written in defense of academic freedom. This isn’t a new quest for him, as he was critical of Harvard’s leadership in the wake of October 7. We take Professor Enos’s attendance of the St. Gallen Symposium as an opportunit...

Disney turned its beloved Snow White into a live action movie – and no one seems happy: some criticize the casting with a Latina star whose skin is not “white as snow,” while others take issue that the color of skin is a topic of controversy at all. And then there’s the problem of the seven dwarves who are, this time around, not dwarves at all which, again, doesn’t please anyone either. The list g...

Many tried to predict what Donald J. Trump’s first 100 days in office would amount to. The best advice stemmed from Karl Rove, long-time Republican strategist and political legend: “Buckle up, buttercup!” And yes, a wild ride it has been, particularly since “liberation day” which brought tariffs for America’s friends and foes alike, even uninhabited islands. While some have dismissed Trump’s econo...

“But – it can’t happen here!” many Americans asserted in light of the Nazi takeover in Germany. Novelist and muckraker Sinclair Lewis ran with this line and sentiment, outlining a scenario in It Can’t Happen Here (1935) in which it did happen: an authoritarian turn in the United States. Similarly, Philip Roth imagined The Plot against America (2004) in which Franklin Delano Roosevelt would lose th...

Emil Frey (1838-1922) war bislang nicht nur der einzige Bundesrat aus dem Kanton Basel-Land, sondern auch – laut der NZZ – «der abenteuerlichste Bundesrat, den die Schweiz je hatte»: Ausgerechnet im amerikanischen Schicksalsjahr 1860 reiste er gemeinsam mit seinem Cousin in die USA, ursprünglich, um sich als Agronom weiterzubilden. Letztlich blieb er fünf Jahre, um im Bürgerkrieg für die Nordstaat...

"Si vis pacem, para bellum" – "If you want peace, prepare for war." This could become the new motto of Europe under the second Trump Administration: it had been well-known that President Trump asks European states to strengthen their armies and expand their defense budgets. But it has only been in the wake of Vice President JD Vance’s talk at the 61st Munich Security Conference and the disastrous...

Scientific freedom under assault? The headlines and numbers are worrisome: amidst federal funding cuts, even the wealthiest research universities have been forced to cut PhD positions and research projects, putting careers and scientific progress in jeopardy. Researchers abroad are likewise affected if and when they collaborate with US colleagues in federally funded projects. What is the significa...

Von amerikanischen Krimi- und Gerichtsserien bis zu True Crime-Podcasts und Dokumentationen: Viele von uns tauchen immer wieder einmal in die US-(Verbrechens)Welt ein. Obschon sie uns durch Film und Audio bekannt ist, bleibt vieles fremd: die Rolle von Staatsanwälten, die teils absurd anmutenden Strafmasse oder das Festhalten an der Todesstrafe. Im Gespräch mit Prof. Nora Markwalder gehen wir dem,...

53% of Americans are "very bothered" by the complexity of the US tax system – rightly so, explains Prof. Peter Hongler in this episode of "Views from the Sister Republic". While it bears some similarities to the Swiss one, it differs in many important aspects, such as the lack of a value-added tax (VAT). What are the reasons for these differences? What should we make of Donald J. Trump’s ideas? An...

Seit Donald J. Trump wieder im Amt ist scheinen die USA und die Welt in fieberhafter Erregung. Nie wurde so minutiös über jede Amtshandlung eines Präsidenten berichtet, wie dies bei Trump der Fall ist. Dabei überbieten sich die Medien in dystopischen Zukunftsszenarien. Doch wie viel ist auf die Prognosen jener zu geben, die einen Wahlsieg Kamala Harris’ vorausgesagt haben? Auch deutschsprachige Me...

Already in his first run for the presidency, Donald J. Trump promised voters to "drain the swamp" and reign in the administrative state. To this end, the new administration created the temporary Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which – under the controversial guidance of Elon Musk – intends to save the federal state one to two trillion US Dollars. For the past few weeks, various measures...

In May 2021, the British weekly The Economist declared Taiwan to be " The Most Dangerous Place on Earth ." While the advent of war in the Middle East and Ukraine suggest that the 2021 cover story was hyperbolic, the small island in the South China Sea is indeed at the center of a conflict that is repeatedly called "the New Cold War": Taiwan’s future is contingent on US-Chinese relations. And these...

Die Idee, dass die Schweiz und die USA «Schwesterrepubliken» respektive «Sister Republics» sind, reicht bis ins 18. Jahrhundert zurück. Kurz nach der amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitserklärung schrieb der Berner Gelehrte Jean-Rodolphe Vautravers keinem geringeren als Benjamin Franklin: «Lasst uns vereint sein als Schwester-Republiken.» Anlässlich der 700-Jahr-Feier der Eidgenossenschaft 1991 beschwor...

Inaugural addresses serve several purposes: Presidents outline their agenda, they signal American citizens that they will serve all of them, irrespective of their background and beliefs, and they reassure America's allies of their ongoing support. While Donald J. Trump did indeed announce his agenda and his next steps, his second inaugural address was unusually partisan and combative. Reading sugg...

During his election campaign, Donald J. Trump promised to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within 24 hours. Ever since, pundits and scholars have debated the success rate of such an endeavor and, more generally, the implications of Trump 2.0 for Ukraine’s future. Yet to assess such scenarios, it is necessary to look back at the path that led Russia to war and how its relations with both the US, Uk...

‘tis the season to be merry! Every year, the First Lady gets to preside over the Christmas decorations at the White House and the president gets to spread festive cheer. This might sound very unpolitical, but every so often the choice of tinsel causes a stir. Join the host Claudia Brühwiler for a short walk down a seasonal walk down presidential memory lane. Links America’s Favorite Christmas Movi...

President Bill Clinton’s electoral slogan "It’s the Economy, Stupid!" has hardly been more popular than now: according to exit polls, the economy was the number 1 reason for voters to support Donald J. Trump. But how can that be the case when the US economy is – according to "The Economist" – " the envy of the world "? Was Bidenomics as bad as its reputation? And how much can presidents actually i...

What helps us understand – and, for some, to cope with – the outcome of the US elections? Of course, exit polls and analyses of seasoned observers, scholars, and political players are a necessary first step to grasp the situation. But there are other avenues that help us make sense of the current American moment, as host Claudia Brühwiler suggests: reading books that do not address the present spe...

How dangerous is Trump 2.0 – and is the incoming president a danger at all? Prof. Christoph Frei joins the host, Claudia Brühwiler, to discuss the outcome of the US presidential elections and the possible impact of a second Trump presidency on US democratic institutions. Together, they assess the strengths of the famous “checks and balances,” the importance of the federalism, and other veto player...