Crude and standardised rates of ordinary naturalisation in Swiss municipalities: new interactive maps

Author(s) : Philippe Wanner, Juan Galeano

Source : http://globalcit.eu/crude-and-standardised-rates-of-ordinary-naturalisation-in-swiss-municipalities-new-interactive-maps/

Abstract:

“Immigrant naturalisation in Switzerland is often characterised by a generally restrictive approach, yet with substantial variation in policies due to the complex multi-level naturalisation procedure: ordinary naturalisation is based on a three-level decision (municipality/commune, canton, and confederation) with a wide range of different procedures (restrictive or almost liberal) at the municipality level (Wanner, Piguet 2002), which can lead to different outcomes for the foreigner depending of his/her place of residence, and also citizenship. At the beginning of this century, discriminatory practices in some communes of central Switzerland have been publicised in the media and highlighted in scholarly research (Hainmueller & Hangartner, 2013). In order to document the differences in the municipal practices, standardised naturalisation rates were published in 2000 (Piguet and Wanner, 2000) and updated in 2012 (Wanner and Steiner, 2012). For policy makers and persons in charge of the naturalisation at the municipality level, it is important to be able to compare the practices and naturalisation rates of their municipality with other neighbouring communes, cantons or the whole country. To do so, however, naturalisation rates should be comparable, i.e. they should take into account the basic characteristics of the foreign population of the municipality.”