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What this book is about
01 _ This book asks: Who are the Swiss, and what unites them? What is Switzerland´s place in the world? What should the Swiss protect themselves from, and which institutions should they preserve? How balance tradition and innovation?
02 _ Contributors from around the globe recognize that Switzerland gains much strength from being small, from having a system of direct democracy and federalism, and from a deeply rooted commitment to liberty, together with economic wisdom and reliability.
03 _ Nevertheless, the interaction with the European Union is difficult, and the United States have been putting the Swiss system under stress. Some of these conflicts might imperil Switzerland´s model altogether, if creative solutions aren´t found.

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Gerhard Schwarz is the Director of Avenir Suisse, a classical liberal think tank in Zurich. He serves as the President of the Progress Foundation and is a member of the advisory board of the St. Gallen Foundation for International Studies. Having studied economics and business administration, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of St. Gallen. He served many years as head of the economic policy and business pages and later also as deputy editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper "Neue Zurcher Zeitung". Karen Horn is a scholar in the History of Economic Thought, an independent author and free-lance journalist. She serves as the editor-in-chief of "Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik", an academic journal published by the "Verein fur Socialpolitik", the association of German-speaking economists. She is a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. Born in Geneva, she earned her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Lausanne.

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