Switzerland

Datasets

Datasets are arranged by type. Click on a dataset name to expand its description (including date range) as well as to download a .csv of current data and a .pdf codebook that documents included variables. For information on how to cite this data please visit our how to cite page. 

Media

• Media

  This dataset captures issue attention in the Swiss media. Data collection was based on the articles of the frontpage of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung for the period 1995-2003. Topics were assigned on the basis of the articles’ full text. Information on whether the article focused on international or cantonal and local news is also included. Character encoding is UTF-8.

  
  9896 observations spanning the years 1995 to 2003
  download dataset   download codebook

Parliamentary & Legislative

• Federal Reports

  This dataset captures issue attention by the Swiss federal government (FederalCouncil). The dataset is based on the reports (i.e. “Message du Conseil fédéral” or “Botschaft des Bundesrates”) accompanying bills submitted by the government to the Parliament. The summaries included at the beginning of each report were used to assign topic codes. Reports published in the weekly editions of the “Federal Gazzette” between 1978-2008 are included. Character encoding is UTF-8.

  
  1951 observations spanning the years 1978 to 2008
  download dataset   download codebook
• Legislation

  This dataset captures issue attention in Swiss legislative production at the federal level. The dataset is based on the legislative acts subject to direct democracy in the period 1978-2008. This includes texts voted by Parliament and subject to optional or mandatory renferendum, as well as constitutional amendments and popular initiatives subject to a popular vote. The data includes information on the type of legislation (i.e. constitutional amendment, federallaw, popular initiative, etc.) and on whether the legislative act was eventually enacted following the direct democracy stage.

  
  1420 observations spanning the years 1978 to 2008
  download dataset   download codebook

Public Opinion & Interest Groups

• Direct Democracy Votes

  This dataset captures issue attention in Swiss direct democracy at the federal level. The dataset covers popular votes celebrated between 1848-2014. Dataincludes issue topic, the type of vote (e.g. referendum, popular initiative) and the outcome of the vote. The data was gathered by the Swiss Comparative Agendas Team on the basis of the information made available by Swissvotes and the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy (c2d). Character encoding isUTF-8.

  
  605 observations spanning the years 1848 to 2014
  download dataset   download codebook