Private Interest Governments are Dead. Long Live Private Interest Governments? Lessons from Swiss Cows
✍ Scribed by Claudius Wagemann
- Publisher
- Swiss Political Science Association
- Year
- 2005
- Tongue
- German
- Weight
- 210 KB
- Volume
- 11
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1420-3529
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This article looks at the most recent developments of the interest associations in the Swiss dairy sector. In the past, these had become famous as so-called "Private Interest Governments" (PIGs) in which interest associations were equipped with public authority. The initial abolition of the PIG of the Swiss dairy sector in 1999 resulted in a significant and disruptive weakening of the traditional actors which were consequently transformed into liberalised service-oriented organisations, and it seemed that the Swiss dairy sector could be an example of a long-time "path" which had come to an end. However, more recent developments, which were partially induced by the associations themselves and partially coincidental, have led to the emergence of a "differentiated PIG". Although associational governance has not been completely re-introduced, and the sector remains largely liberalised, the example shows that a path which has been followed for more than 80 years cannot simply be reversed and replaced by a new path, and that deeply institutionalised structures can partially survive if a "window of opportunity" opens.