Andrea Tognina

Expertise: history, human rights, and the economy. Initials: ant

A historian by training, originally from the Grisons, I am mainly interested in political and social issues.

‘Forgotten’ Swiss resistance fighters could be rehabilitated

This content was published on Dec 12, 2021 More than 460 Swiss citizens fought in the French Resistance during the Second World War.

Emil Bührle and the art of war

This content was published on Jan 6, 2021 Who was Emil Bührle, a German from a modest background who become Switzerland’s wealthiest man and a world-renowned art collector?

Swiss corporate responsibility vote reflects wider trend

This content was published on Nov 19, 2020 One of the most controversial issues in the debate on the ‘responsible business’ initiative concerns the scope of the Swiss proposal.

Colonialism: How Swiss multinationals set their sights on the world

This content was published on Sep 29, 2020 Is there a relationship between the rise of great Swiss corporate names and European colonial expansion?

Due bambini spaccano pietre con un martello

Game on for Swiss corporate responsibility vote

This content was published on Jun 10, 2020 After years of talks, a vote on the responsible business initiative is now a sure thing. The campaign promises to be heated; the result is uncertain.

Protesting from home: Labour Day and coronavirus

This content was published on May 1, 2020 Covid-19 has forced trade unions, parties and social movements to come up with new forms of mobilisation, with protests moving online.

‘Epidemics reveal much about the state of a society’

This content was published on Apr 21, 2020 Although Covid-19 is not comparable with the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, there are some parallels in Switzerland.

The curious incident of the documents in the Swiss army bunker

This content was published on Feb 23, 2020 The recent Crypto scandal is another reminder to the Swiss authorities of the importance of transparent archiving in a democracy.

When Switzerland recognised the new China

This content was published on Jan 17, 2020 Seventy years ago, Switzerland was one of the first Western nations to officially recognise the People’s Republic of China.

A tale of passports, profiteers and escaping Nazi persecution

This content was published on Jan 14, 2020 An exhibit in Basel is shining light on a little-known underground effort in Switzerland to help European Jews escape from Nazi-occupied territories.

Rich, stable Switzerland to face some moral dilemmas

This content was published on Jan 1, 2020 Switzerland will fare well in 2020: But so much wealth brings questions about responsibility and transparency.

Beznau – a symbol of progress turned object of discord

This content was published on Dec 9, 2019 Switzerland's first nuclear power plant tuns 50 with its future, and very presence, the cause of contention.

Is it possible to refuse military service in Switzerland?

This content was published on Nov 26, 2019 How does Switzerland, a country that retains the duty of compulsory military service, deal with conscientious objectors?

Woman checking seating plan in the Swiss parliament

Record number of women running for parliament

This content was published on Sep 11, 2019 Never before have so many candidates entered the race for a seat in the Swiss parliament.

The long road to the Geneva Conventions of 1949

This content was published on Aug 12, 2019 Seventy years ago, Switzerland achieved a diplomatic coup in organising a major diplomatic conference in 1949 to revise the Geneva Conventions.

Voters to have final say on arms export ban

This content was published on Jun 24, 2019 Campaigners for a ban on Swiss arms exports have handed in the necessary number of signatures to force a nationwide vote on the issue.

Why Swiss women are back on strike today

This content was published on Jun 14, 2019 On June 14, 1991, half a million women in Switzerland joined the first women’s strike. Nearly 30 years later, they’re mobilising again.

When the death of a diplomat challenged Swiss neutrality

This content was published on May 30, 2019 Forty years ago, Hugo Wey was shot dead in El Salvador, a sign that Swiss neutrality could not protect diplomats from the fallout of local conflicts.

Switzerland, a nation of gun lovers

This content was published on May 4, 2019 Shooting is a favourite leisure sport in Switzerland. But gun lovers fear a new weapons law could spoil their fun.

How a trip from Bern to Bucharest changed Swiss diplomacy

This content was published on Apr 28, 2019 Fifty years ago, Swiss diplomacy embarked on a new path when cabinet minister Willy Spühler travelled to Romania.