Question 69-73 are based on the following passage.
 

    Switzerland has three official national languages (French, Italian, and German) and two major religions (Catholicism and Protestantism). This level of diversity has often led to conflict and even violence in other countries, but Switzerland has maintained a peaceful coexistence since its establishment as a federal state in 1848. What could explain this unusual stability? A new study examines well-defined topographical and political boundaries separating groups and draws some surprising conclusions. In Switzerland, landscape elements tend to separate linguistic groups, while political cantons, which are similar to states or provinces, tend to separate religious groups. The study suggests that these physical or geographical barriers allow for partial autonomy among disparate groups within a single country and thus foster peace.

    The study considered the effect of physical separations, such as those caused by lakes and mountain ranges, determining the scale of these boundaries via an edge detection algorithm that calculates topographical heights. Where a sharp contrast in height, such as a cliff, also continued for a significant distance, the researchers designated a physical boundary between groups. Throughout the regions separated by these types of boundaries, a quiet reign of peace has persisted for nearly two centuries. Where such boundaries do not exist, however, politically or linguistically mixed cantons are more prevalent and violence is more common. One such canton, Jura, has both a history of conflict and a porous mountain range that does not fully separate linguistic groups.

    Some researchers hypothesized that political boundaries might encourage stability in places where physical boundaries are absent. However, existing evidence suggests that political boundaries might not be sufficient to discourage violence. For example, Jura was formed in 1979 in response to sustained attacks between a local German-speaking Protestant population and another French speaking Catholic population. The new canton created autonomous political region for the French-speaking Catholic population, though the French-speaking Protestant region chose to remain affiliated with the German-speaking Protestants in the existing canton of Bern, valuing similar religion over similar language. Because of remaining linguistic differences, conflict in the region continued. A proposal to combine the French-speaking Protestants areas with the French-speaking Catholic areas is currently being considered, despite little evidence that any boundaries except physical ones effectively temper violence.

The author of the passage discusses the history of the canton Jura in order to ...