Performance comparisons between countries has no interest in itself if not for seeking and understanding how and why one was more successful in developing competitive advantages than others who progressed less, although sharing the same basic intelligence.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) the global competitiveness[1] of Switzerland is the best in the world, followed closely by Singapore and Finland. Among the top ten there are four economic giants (Germany, USA, Japan, UK), three Asian (Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan) and four smaller countries of Europe (Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands). So, it seems that success does not depend on the size of a country, nor on the continent where it is located.

Of course such assessments may be criticized on their validity and meaning, on what was measured, on forgotten and ignored themes, in particular cultural and social questions. And as each country has not started its development into modernity with the same initial conditions the comparison may show biases of their authors. But everybody will agree that the presence or absence of two basic resources, raw materials and culture, have largely determined and still determine the development of a given country.

To achieve comparative advantages that lead Switzerland to its current position the country had, and still has, to cope with its innate deficiencies:

• Absence of natural resources,
• Small size and weak strategic position of the country,
• Lack of a clear national identity.

Resources

Aside from abundance of water cascading over high elevation differences no large quantities of minerals or fossil fuels are available; and agricultural production conditions are precarious in the largest part of the territory. Therefore, it is a must to rely on human resources whose skills and competencies were developed through the workers who served abroad as mercenaries or as craftsmen, and who, when returning in the country, brought back a knowledge of the world and of foreign techniques, not forgetting some more or less well acquired wealth. However, before and at the beginning of industrialization the emigration of enterprising and courageous people fleeing from poverty and hunger to go to Northern Europe, Russia and America has also weakened the country. Countries of the South are currently exposed to a similar situation.

By their geographical location at the crossroads of European routes, and by hosting Huguenots persecuted in France and Holland the cities of Basel and Geneva became important commercial centres. As flows of currency accompany flows of goods, Swiss private bankers were able to settle in Paris and London, thus taking foot in international finance.

Industrialization could also begin in Switzerland without delay thanks to the available hydraulic energy. But the lack of local raw materials imposed from the beginning to undertake high added-value activities: imported raw metals to be shaped in machinery, chemical processes to make dyes and drugs established alongside rivers used for cooling and as [too] easy waste dumps, upcoming of a food processing industry. It is necessary to recall at this point that holders of expertise often came from outside, industrial chemists from Lyon and engineers from Britain and Germany.

Having no possibility of agricultural or industrial self-sufficiency, Switzerland must import a large portion of what it consumes. This would be unsustainable if no exporting activities were present to balance the costs of imports. Many other countries who hummed for a long time in a large autonomous internal market started to feel this need only when globalization appeared. What for them is now a shock, pushes them to the defensive and submits them to isolationist temptation is a condition known for a long time by the Swiss who have learned to adapt to always changing and threatening external conditions without closing its doors.

It is thanks to the absence of a pillow of laziness from the abundance of own or colonial resources that the development of high technologies imposed itself as a necessity, and this remains today a foundation of the competitiveness of the country.

Size of the country

With its 41’285 km², of which half is uninhabitable, Switzerland is a small country that represents no strategic threat to its neighbours. It could have been otherwise if the Savoie (French and Italian), the Valtellina and the Basel-Mulhouse diocese had annexed, but history cannot be rewritten.

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the condescension of the major powers allowed secured borders to Switzerland. And, to prevent the trafficking of influence between these powers, neutrality was imposed, which then became a virtue of our diplomacy.

By its central position in Europe and its neutrality, and with the brilliant coincidence of the invention of the humanitarian principles by Geneva borne Henri Dunant, Switzerland could  profiled itself as a place of debate and conflict resolution, where a constant truce can be found. This gives to the country a much broader aura than one might think if considering only its physical and demographic dimensions.

Small from a geo-strategic perspective, Switzerland has yet become a large player in the global economy. According to the absolute size of its GDP and the importance of its financial centre it should be part of the G20. However, it is invited only sporadically as an observer and is the subject of a dense and crossed shooting on its tax system and its banking secrecy. Would its success make jealous? Or is its financial size now perceived as a nuisance to eliminate? If this is the case then we should hope that Switzerland returns quickly to the status of a forgotten player in the international cacophonous concert.

Identity and institutions

Switzerland wants to define itself as a “Willensnation” a nation built by the will of the people who are constituting it. Yet it is difficult to grasp clearly the identity of this country and of its inhabitants.

The founding myths of the 1291 oath on the Rütli, Guillaume Tell and the battles for the liberation from the Austrian oppressor were used to establish a national foundation that led to the adoption of the first constitution in 1848. But at the bottom of himself everyone knows that it is in large parts of legends, nevertheless having a value of common cement.

Without it not much can explain and justify our national cohesion: the German-speaking linguistic majority faces three active minorities; the distribution of religious denominations prevents any supremacy; no urban pole is the place where everything will be decided (although Zurich people sometimes have the arrogance to believe it); local cultures and folklore are strong while no collective cultural aggregate has emerged. Patriotism, the sense for one’s roots, remains quite local: long before being Swiss one feels from Valais, Appenzell or from one of the Grisons valleys. Multiple German dialects and the distinct accents in the French-speaking cantons reinforces this diversity of identities. It may well be the reason why the integration of foreign migrants (more than 23% of the total population, without counting those having acquired the nationality) happened so far relatively eventless as compared to neighbouring countries.

And yet the country enjoys a strong cohesiveness. When exposed to the outside, one is proud to be Swiss, with even a chauvinism of the type “no one is like us”. We smile if president Obama talks about what makes the USA so special: they are terribly standard, the admirable exception is us…

This historical and cultural mixture would not hold together more than five minutes if institutions guaranteeing good stability had not been put in place. It must still remember that these are the Cantons who delegated some of their sovereignty to the Confederation. If they comply with the common rules it is because they have decided so and not because a central power imposes them[2]. The legislative diversity between the cantons is regularly criticized by proponents of central rules and norms. But this multiplicity is an existential condition for the cohesion of the country. By its historic and then legal constitution the country is governed very close to the populations, municipalities and cantons. Its political organization is made of proportional representation to the national Council and an equal voices of the large and small cantons in the Council of States (similar to the US Senate), of a collegial Government based on consensus (which is different from a coalition), and of a direct democracy that includes mandatory or optional referendums and popular initiatives. Over the years a subtle Swiss way of managing public affairs resulted from these institutions. Consultations take a long time and are laborious; rhetoric doesn’t have too much success; no providential man can profile himself: it is just unspectacular and boring, but it works, apparently better than in many other countries. And as compromise solutions acceptable to everyone will be found, no one will be really satisfied. Paradoxically, this criticism – or permanent lamentation – is a powerful engine to continue to improve the conditions of common life in the country.

Yet these institutions remain misunderstood (incomprehensible?) outside our country. Constantly it is necessary to remind our European ‘partners’ or our American ‘friends’ that the rules of law are under the control of the citizens by the way of referendum. However, when negotiations get unusually hard our “designed to be weak” executive reveals itself to be at a huge disadvantage. In my opinion, too quickly our government and its representatives tend to anticipate and to avoid a power play, to propose compromises too early, and to make demands limited to what is deemed ‘reasonable ‘.

If by pride one understands exaggerated sense of self-confidence there is no reason to be proud to be Swiss. On the contrary, it is essential to cultivate the desire to continue building Switzerland without excessive denigration or worship, and to well remember that there’s nothing natural or definitely acquired in the current well-being and performances of the country.

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