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SONAR|HES-SO regroupe les travaux de bachelor et master diffusables de plusieurs écoles de la HES-SO. Consultez cette page pour le détails.

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Bachelor thesis_Zenklusen.pdf
Bachelor thesis

The Swiss arms industry : exports of war material : what would be the implications of a possible total ban on exports of war material for the Swiss arms industry ?

  • Genève : Haute école de gestion de Genève

109 p.

Bachelor of Science HES in International Business Management: Haute école de gestion de Genève, 2021

English Exports of war material have been a matter of debate in the past decade and have been a recurring element of Switzerland’s politics and history (Jost, 2018). Ranked twelfth largest exporter of war material in 2019 (SIPRI, 2020), the fact that Switzerland is active in such a trade inevitably sparks controversy, due to the country’s humanitarian tradition and its neutral status which add to the already inherently controversial nature of war material. Various groups have been engaged against exports of war material, notably since the outbreak of the Oerlikon-Bührle scandal in 1968, which deeply shocked public opinion. Since then, numerous initiatives have been tabled, aiming at tightening the laws governing the export of war material or even banning such exports altogether, as was the case in 2009 with the initiative "For a ban on the export of war material", submitted by the GSsA. Although the initiative was refused both by the cantons and by the population, the number of initiatives proposed against exports of war material, paired with the general negative perception from public opinion, support the construction of the following hypothesis: in view of the existing political risk, a total ban on exports of war material may become a reality. Based on this hypothesis, this research aims at identifying and analysing the different implications a possible ban on war material exports would have on the Swiss arms industry, as well as bringing light on an industry that is often talked about, but paradoxically, rather unrecognized. In addition to the data and information gathered and analysed during this research, interviews with key stakeholders were conducted to deepen the understanding of the matter and gain insights on the functioning and structure of the Swiss arms industry as well as on the consequences a possible ban on exports of war material would have. This research shows that if the hypothesis of an export ban on war material were to become a reality, the Swiss arms industry would face significant repercussions. An export ban would result in economic, technological and political implications for the industry, whose export share represents the majority of its business. The mitigation of political risk includes, but is not limited to, bringing new perspectives to the population, as well as increasing the exports authorization process’ visibility and emphasizing Switzerland’s transparency with regards to its war material exports.
Language
  • English
Classification
Economics
Notes
  • Haute école de gestion Genève
  • International Business Management
  • hesso:hegge
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/hesso/documents/319793
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