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more competitive and lively than myths suggest. The book is divided into four sections. The first deals with the settings and contexts of Swiss politics. The second examines the actors involved, from the people through cantons to teh judiciary. The third analyses Switzerland's unusual processes of consultation, direct democracy and federalism. Finally there is a detailed consideration of internal and external policy outcomes. Together they make it possible to examine the Swiss in the context of comparative and European politics in a way rarely possible in the past.