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Switzerland
Culture & Identity
Switzerland's Personality
Despite being neutral, Switzerland is not afraid
to fight. Their neutrality arose in order to defend themselves from outsiders, creating
a country based upon similar interests and diplomacy, rather than takeovers, violence,
or ethnic makeup. This birth makes Switzerland quite unique and very diverse.
Throughout history Switzerland continued to grow
as a result of their similar interests and focus on domestic growth and economic
progress. This inwardly looking focus made Switzerland an island, despite their
ethnic diversity. Today, they are being more and more drawn out of their isolation,
although their neutrality has mostly remained intact.
Identity
The Swiss primarily identify by their nationality,
that is Swiss. Being Swiss defines their history, attitude, beliefs, and their stance
on nearly every issue. However, amongst themselves they identify more by ethnicity
(French, German, or Italian) as they need to understand each other's culture
and language to communicate and continue to progress. This priority of identifying
first by their country and only secondly with their ethnicity has allowed them to
maintain independence from France,
Germany, or Italy.
This page was last updated: February, 2012