Gianni D’Amato

Unity and Diversity in Cohesion: Immigration, Citizenship and Federalism

Unlike in most European states, immigrant integration policies and discourses in Switzerland are characterized by profound territorial variations, resulting from the comparatively broad degree of autonomy of its cantons and municipalities. Our project mapped out these differences and compared them with other federal and regional states. Overall, our results point to the prominent role of the “region” as a major forum of democratic contestation and provider of citizenship rights in the multilevel governance of migration.

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)
Main Results (PDF)

Messages for Decision-Makers

By European standards, laws of acquisition of citizenship in Switzerland are among the most restrictive. This outcome can be at least partly attributed to the frequent use of referendums and popular initiatives on migration-related issues.
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Foreigners’ opportunities to naturalize or to vote vary greatly according to the canton in which they reside.
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The multilevel attribution of citizenship in Switzerland shares many institutional similarities with the European Union.

Migration-Mobility Indicators on Citizenship and Attitudes

Project Description
This project proposes to examine how issues surrounding immigrant integration are being negotiated in the Swiss federal context, from a legal as well as socio-political perspective.

The Regional Dynamics of Integration and Citizenship Regulation: An International Comparative Perspective
Subproject by Anita Manatschal and Jean-Thomas Arrighi de Casanova

Project Fact Sheet (PDF)


Project-related scientific publications