Quand la famille se déchire: analyse des sections divergentes cantonales lors des votations populaires 2003‐2011

The appearance of divergent cantonal sections during popular votes is a recurring phenomenon in Switzerland. However, despite the importance of its analysis to evaluate the internal cohesion of political parties, this has been neglected in the recent literature. We fill the gap by analyzing both quantitatively and qualitatively the divergent sections during popular votes in the last two legislatures (2003‐2007 and 2007‐2011). The quantitative analysis shows stability or even a slight decline of the phenomenon. The qualitative analysis (case studies) relativizes its impact on party cohesion: Its more important occurrences are confined to specific policy areas and caused by particular or specific causes.