Switzerland
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Switzerland is a nation located between Italy, France, Germany, Lichtenstein and Austria. It is known for its military neutrality, "secret" bank accounts, as well as its alpine terrain.
Government
Switzerland is actually a confederation of states known as Cantons. While the relative strength of federal governments is difficult to judge in objective terms, it could safely be said that Switzerland has a more decentralized federal system than the United States or Canada. The Swiss federal government is concerned primarily with defense and foreign relations. Switzerland has a parliamentary form of government but many issues are decided by direct refferendum. Switzerland is not an EU member state although it does abide by some European trade agreements. As of the late 1990s Switzerland had still not accepted member ship in the United Nations (further notation required)
Defense
Switzerland has long held a position of armed neutrality. The Swiss have not had a regular standing army in recent modern history. Every Swiss male is required to serve in the militia. There is a basic training period after which time, some Swiss soldiers may receive the only likely active deployment of their lives, a short stint guarding the border. The Swiss have virtually no law limiting the ownership of small arms and have generally earned a reputation for being a nation of marksmen. The armed populace served as an effective detterent in World War II. To paraphrase a famous quote by an anonymous Swiss militia member in reply to a question by a visiting Nazi officer as to how he felt that the German Army outnumbered the Swiss two to one, "We'll all shoot twice, then go home." Some have accused ethnic Germans, who did comprise much of the higher echelon Swiss officers of sympathy for Nazi Germany. Regardless of the truth to such claims, Switzerland was never attacked, avoided the holocaust, and retained a relatively free and democratic state unlike the rest of Germany's neighbors who either embraced fascism or fell to invasion at some point. It is said that Adolf Hitler stated that Switzerland was metaphorical equal to a porcupine.
Recently the idea of universal service and its practicality have been called into question. The Swiss system is being changed so that a third of all males will have to serve. The reason stated is that technology such as aircraft are more critical to defense in modern times, than a militia of every male citizen. The intention is to arm a third as many men three times as well. Private weapons ownership in Switerland is some of the least restrictive in the world with automatic weapons being lawful to own.
Culture
Swizerland has three major languages, German, French, and Italian. German is the most widely spoken, followed by French, and then Italian. It should be noted that many Swiss speak two or more languages and the above breakdown reffers to how many speak a given language as their first language. It should also be noted that Swiss German varies significantly from the German spoken in Germany and Austria. Their is a seperatist movement in the French speaking Canton of Jura. The group calls itself Jura Libre. They are seeking political autonomy for Francophones based on the concept of a distinct society. Their ideology and motives reflect those of the French speaking seperatists in Quebec.
