New publication: The Landsgemeinde (cantonal people’s assembly) and the Free State of the Three Leagues

Volume 5 (ISBN 978-3-9525273-1-3) of the historiographical series Beiträge zur Erforschung der Demokratie (Contributions to the Study of Democracy) examines the Swiss cantons of Glarus and Grisons in more detail. Following on from the political movements and the theory of direct democracy, the Swiss cantons are now the focus of attention. Volume 5 publishes the papers presented at the sixth and seventh scientific conferences of the Forschungsinstitut direkte Demokratie (Research Institute for Direct Democracy), which took place in Elm and Ilanz respectively.
  The topics that took centre stage at the conferences, namely the Landsgemeinde in Switzerland and especially in the canton of Glarus, as well as the Free State of the Three Leagues, have not yet been sufficiently researched historically. Both cantons promoted the emergence of direct democracy in Switzerland and provided important impetus for its development.
  Future volumes in the historical series will focus on other Swiss cantons and examine their contribution to the history of democracy.
  The editor René Roca is a postgraduate historian with a doctorate and grammar school teacher in Basel. He founded and heads the Forschungsinstitut direkte Demokratie (www.fidd.ch) and regularly publishes on the topics of direct democracy, the principle of cooperation, neutrality and natural law.