A large number of international institutions have their seats in Switzerland, in part because of its policy of neutrality. Geneva is the birthplace of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the Geneva Conventions and, since 2006, hosts the United Nations Human Rights Council. Even though Switzerland is one of the most recent countries to have joined the United Nations, the Palace of Nations in Geneva is the second biggest center for the United Nations after New York, and Switzerland was a founding member and home to the League of Nations.

Swiss Confederation Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (German) Confédération suisse  (French) Confederazione Svizzera  (Italian) Confederaziun svizra  (Romansh) Confoederatio Helvetica  (Latin)

Apart from the United Nations headquarters, the Swiss Confederation is host to many UN agencies, like the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and about 200 other international organizations, including the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Annual meetings of the World Economic Forum in Davos bring together top international business and political leaders from Switzerland and foreign countries to discuss issues, including health and the environment. Additionally the headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements are located in Basel since 1930.

Direct democracy and federalism are hallmarks of the Swiss political system. Swiss citizens are subject to three legal jurisdictions: the municipality, canton and federal levels.

The cantons have a permanent constitutional status and, in comparison with the situation in other countries, a high degree of independence. Under the Federal Constitution, all 26 cantons are equal in status. Each canton has its own constitution, and its own parliament, government and courts.[58] However, there are considerable differences between the individual cantons, most particularly in terms of population and geographical area.

The Swiss government has been a coalition of the four major political parties since 1959, each party having a number of seats that roughly reflects its share of electorate and representation in the federal parliament. Following the 2015 Federal Council elections, the seven seats in the Federal Council were distributed as follows: 1 seat for the Christian Democratic People's Party 2 seats for the Free Democratic Party 2 seats for the Social Democratic Party 2 seats for the Swiss People's Party

The Swiss Armed Forces, including the Land Forces and the Air Force, are composed mostly of conscripts, male citizens aged from 20 to 34 (in special cases up to 50) years. Being a landlocked country, Switzerland has no navy; however, on lakes bordering neighboring countries, armed military patrol boats are used. Swiss citizens are prohibited from serving in foreign armies, except for the Swiss Guards of the Vatican, or if they are dual citizens of a foreign country and reside there.

Many sport federations and organizations are located throughout the country, such as the International Basketball Federation in Geneva, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in Nyon, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Ice Hockey Federation both in Zürich, the International Cycling Union in Aigle, and the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne.