Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Timeline of the Sister Republics (1794-1806)
- The political culture of the Sister Republics
- ‘The political passions of other nations’: National choices and the European order in the writings of Germaine de Staël
- 1 The transformation of republicanism
- The transformation of republicanism in the Sister Republics
- ‘Republic’ and ‘democracy’ in Dutch late eighteenth-century revolutionary discourse
- New wine in old wineskins: Republicanism in the Helvetic Republic
- 2 Political concepts and languages
- Revolutionary concepts and languages in the Sister Republics of the late 1790s
- Useful citizens. Citizenship and democracy in the Batavian Republic, 1795-1801
- From rights to citizenship to the Helvetian indigénat: Political integration of citizens under the Helvetic Republic
- The battle over ‘democracy’ in Italian political thought during the revolutionary triennio, 1796-1799
- 3 The invention of democratic parliamentary practices
- Parliamentary practices in the Sister Republics in the light of the French experience
- Making the most of national time: Accountability, transparency, and term limits in the first Dutch Parliament (1796-1797)
- The invention of democratic parliamentary practices in the Helvetic Republic: Some remarks
- The Neapolitan republican experiment of 1799: Legislation, balance of power, and the workings of democracy between theory and practice
- 4 Press, politics, and public opinion
- Censorship and press liberty in the Sister Republics: Some reflections
- 1798: A turning point?: Censorship in the Batavian Republic
- Censorship and public opinion: Press and politics in the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803)
- Liberty of press and censorship in the first Cisalpine Republic
- 5 The Sister Republics and France
- Small nation, big sisters
- The national dimension in the Batavian Revolution: Political discussions, institutions, and constitutions
- The constitutional debate in the Helvetic Republic in 1800-1801: Between French influence and national self-government
- An unwelcome Sister Republic: Re-reading political relations between the Cisalpine Republic and the French Directory
- Bibliography
- List of contributors
- Notes
- Index
From rights to citizenship to the Helvetian indigénat: Political integration of citizens under the Helvetic Republic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Timeline of the Sister Republics (1794-1806)
- The political culture of the Sister Republics
- ‘The political passions of other nations’: National choices and the European order in the writings of Germaine de Staël
- 1 The transformation of republicanism
- The transformation of republicanism in the Sister Republics
- ‘Republic’ and ‘democracy’ in Dutch late eighteenth-century revolutionary discourse
- New wine in old wineskins: Republicanism in the Helvetic Republic
- 2 Political concepts and languages
- Revolutionary concepts and languages in the Sister Republics of the late 1790s
- Useful citizens. Citizenship and democracy in the Batavian Republic, 1795-1801
- From rights to citizenship to the Helvetian indigénat: Political integration of citizens under the Helvetic Republic
- The battle over ‘democracy’ in Italian political thought during the revolutionary triennio, 1796-1799
- 3 The invention of democratic parliamentary practices
- Parliamentary practices in the Sister Republics in the light of the French experience
- Making the most of national time: Accountability, transparency, and term limits in the first Dutch Parliament (1796-1797)
- The invention of democratic parliamentary practices in the Helvetic Republic: Some remarks
- The Neapolitan republican experiment of 1799: Legislation, balance of power, and the workings of democracy between theory and practice
- 4 Press, politics, and public opinion
- Censorship and press liberty in the Sister Republics: Some reflections
- 1798: A turning point?: Censorship in the Batavian Republic
- Censorship and public opinion: Press and politics in the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803)
- Liberty of press and censorship in the first Cisalpine Republic
- 5 The Sister Republics and France
- Small nation, big sisters
- The national dimension in the Batavian Revolution: Political discussions, institutions, and constitutions
- The constitutional debate in the Helvetic Republic in 1800-1801: Between French influence and national self-government
- An unwelcome Sister Republic: Re-reading political relations between the Cisalpine Republic and the French Directory
- Bibliography
- List of contributors
- Notes
- Index
Summary
The Helvetic Republic, Une et Indivisible, was established by the Constitution of 12 April 1798. This constitution was imposed by France and was intended to create a nation with a republican system. It abolished federalism so that cantons were reduced to the status of mere administrative units, whilst the communes were stripped of their prerogatives. Sovereignty was no longer a monopoly of privileged families; henceforth it was to be embodied in ‘the totality of citizens’. The nation became the foundation of society. The relationship between the individual and the state underwent a historic shift: from the commune to the Fatherland, that is, to the nation. The intention of the Republic was to replace a non-egalitarian hierarchy with a society made up of free and equal citizens.
For the new regime, the creation of an integrated national entity was a major challenge. It was first considered in terms of its political and civil dimensions: the proper functioning of representative democracy had to be ensured. This new national entity was constructed by means of a double dialectical process of inclusion and exclusion. The inclusion was to be based on the key notions of ‘people’ and ‘citizen’. The exclusion was to be founded on a certain number of criteria judged essential for national cohesion, for the functioning of the republic, and for the security of the new regime.
The emergence of a new model for ‘citizenship’ (citoyenneté) was intrinsically bound up with the development of national society. It took place at a turning point in Swiss history when, by both breaking away from and continuing with what had been inherited from the ancien regimé, the aim was to create a Helvetian people and to integrate citizens into a system that was still being developed. In this context, the notions of ‘citizen’ and ‘citizenship’ took on a new and significant resonance. Constructing them was to be an issue for interests that revealed the tensions inherent in the confrontation between a new world view and national imperatives.
In this contribution, I shall first show how a single Helvetic indigénat replaced earlier rights of citizenship. Second, I shall focus in particular on the question of the political integration of citizens and its boundaries.
- Type
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- Information
- Political Culture of the Sister Republics, 1794–1806France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy, pp. 85 - 96Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2015