Is it a good idea for citizens to vote on national security issues?
On September 27, Swiss voters will decide whether or not the air force can buy new fighter jets for CHF6 billion. If the idea is rejected, army representatives say the credibility and viability of the country’s air defense system will be thrown into doubt.
No other country offers its citizens such direct input into military decision-making: is this a democratic privilege or a danger to national security? Should there be limits on the scope of direct democracy? Let us know what you think below.
From the article Swiss voters hold the keys to new fighter jet fleet
Yes. Either the people control the country in a direct democracy or they do not.
So far, after 15 years here it feels like the politicians decide on all the big stuff that costs trillions and the people vote on meaningless stuff that costs millions, most of which is already known to never pass a vote.
Comparing Switzerland with other countries, direct democracy gives better results. An occasional blunder happens, but is rarer than blunders made by parliaments in other countries.
At least in Switzerland you have universal (male) participation in the armed forces. What grinds me are all the civilian "experts" who never had a piece of "skin" in the game so to speak.
Absolutely! In a democracy citizens get to vote on defense as they want to by petitioning for a referendum. This is why Switzerland has not been dragged into massive military spending and regime change wars that other Western nations have been dragged into by the US and its corporate, greed driven elites. Political elites like to keep weapon manufacturers happy by starting as many wars as possible and building up a huge military. They don't care because it's mostly the poor that fight their wars for profit and cheap resources. Genuine democracy as modeled by Switzerland is the way to stop the war mongering elites from running amok.
If you had asked this question three decades ago, I would have answered “Yes” without hesitation. Nowadays, I frankly have serious doubts. The mentality of the population has changed so much and it would be unfair to blame it on immigration. The difficulty in recruiting candidates for municipal administrations or the army could be symptomatic for a rising ego-centrism. People would rather ask what the state can do for them than the contrary. Financial comfort and years of peace have relegated concerns about national security. The risk of a conventional war is presently, indeed, very low and the reason why the army has been shrunk by over two thirds. The planned purchase of only 40 birds is commensurate. Simply said, you cannot fully train an army and air-force from scratch in just six months. Let's enjoy peace while it lasts – the political situation is in a precarious equilibrium and could change quickly when nobody expects it.
How long do the Swiss think their air force will last against an invader? They don't have that many planes, nor do the pilots have much (if any) experience of fighting an enemy. Better would be to spend the money on ground defences - but again how long would this tiny country last? A few big bombs and bye, bye. Rather than spend money on defence, the world should forget its borders and differences and focus on exploring the universe, Star Trek style instead. One world, one people. No need to fight.
Oh, oh! I can answer that one! From memory, the plan is to last 3 weeks, though we joke it would actually be 3 days, or just long enough to negotiate a surrender. (That said our fighters have combat training, including international exercises. And ground defenses have their limitations. Also, we have to police our sky and you can't exactly do that with 40 Pilatus.)
Kumbya ... lets all join hands ....
Part of the surrender deal is to give them 40 brand new birds of terror. Brand new.
We lived in the US for 15 years. There is nothing more safe than knowing how to use a gun and living in a community where every home has a few guns. We've never had a robber in the neighbourhood. Everyone knew that if they break in they will be shot and everyone was safe. I never felt that safe in Switzerland or AUstria. The US was way safer.
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