Die Verlockung einer Globalisierung ohne Forum - zu den Hintergrundbedingungen der Schweizer Europadebatte (Stefan Schlegel)

This article recalls two concepts that have received little attention in the Swiss debate on Europe – the spaghetti bowl and the Rodrik trilemma. The spaghetti bowl refers to a network of international treaties without central institutions. The article demonstrates that the idea of such a network being able to deliver results comparable to those of international and supranational institutions is an important and problematic background assumption in the Swiss debate on Europe. The spaghetti bowl also suggests the possibility to escape the Rodrik trilemma, which holds that of the three objectives «national sovereignty», «economic integration» and «democracy», no more than two can be maximized. The article uses the Rodrik trilemma to demonstrate why the spaghetti bowl is no alternative to suprastate institutions. It concludes that the root cause of Switzerland’s unresolved relationship with Europe is a problematic understanding of the relationship of the individual to the state as well as of the realm of economics to the realm of politics.