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One of the main principles ofSwitzerland's foreign policy is thatSwitzerland is not to be involved in armed conflicts between other states.[1] This policy is self-imposed and designed to ensure external security and promote peace.[2]
Switzerland has the oldest policy ofmilitary neutrality in the world;[3] it has not participated in a foreign war since its neutrality was established by theTreaty of Paris in 1815. However, the country did have acivil war in 1847.
Although the European powers (Austria,France,the United Kingdom,Portugal,Prussia,Russia,Spain andSweden) agreed at theCongress of Vienna in May 1815 that Switzerland should be neutral, final ratification was delayed until afterNapoleon Bonaparte was defeated so that somecoalition forces could invade France via Swiss territory.[4]
The country has a history ofarmed neutrality going back to theReformation; it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815[5][6] apart from theSonderbund War (Switzerland civil war), joining theLeague of Nations in 1920[5] and did not join theUnited Nations until 2002.[7] It pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world.[8][9]
On February 28, 2022, Switzerland imposedeconomic sanctions onRussia and froze a significant amount of assets held by Russian civilians and companies as "punishment" for theinvasion of Ukraine. Some described this as "a sharp deviation from the country's traditional neutrality."[10] According to Swiss presidentIgnazio Cassis in 2022 during aWorld Economic Forum speech, the laws of neutrality for Switzerland are based on The Hague agreement principles which include "no participation in wars; international cooperation but no membership in any military alliance; no provision of troops or weapons to warring parties and no granting of transition rights".[11]
The beginnings of Swiss neutrality can be dated back to the defeat of theOld Swiss Confederacy at theBattle of Marignano in September 1515[12][better source needed] or the peace treaty the Swiss Confederacy signed withFrance on November 12, 1516.[13]: 241 Prior to this, the Swiss Confederacy had anexpansionist foreign policy.[12]
ThePeace of Westphalia in 1648 was another important step in the development of Switzerland's neutrality.[13]: 242 Other countries were disallowed from passing through Swiss territory, and the Confederation became legally independent from theHoly Roman Empire,[13]: 242 even though it had been independent from the Empirede facto since 1499.[14]
The1798 invasion of Switzerland by theFrench First Republic culminated in the creation of asatellite state called theHelvetic Republic. While the 1798 Swiss constitution and the 1803Act of Mediation stated that France would protect Swiss independence and neutrality, these promises were not kept.[13]: 245 With the latter act, Switzerland signed a defensive alliance treaty with France.[13]: 245 During theRestoration, the Swiss Confederation's constitution and the Treaty of Paris'sAct on the Neutrality of Switzerland in 1815 affirmed Swiss neutrality.[12][13]: 246 [15]
The dating of neutrality to 1516 is disputed by modern historians. Prior to 1895, no historian referenced the Battle of Marignano as the beginning of neutrality. The later backdating has to be seen in light of threats by several major powers in 1889 to rescind the neutrality granted to Switzerland in 1815. A publication byPaul Schweizer, titledGeschichte der schweizerischen Neutralität, attempted to show that Swiss neutrality was not granted by other nations, but a decision they took themselves and thus could not be rescinded by others. The later publication of the same name byEdgar Bonjour, published between 1946 and 1975, expanded on this thesis.[16]
During theFirst World War, Switzerland sustained its policy of neutrality despite sharing land borders with two of theCentral Powers (Germany andAustria-Hungary) and two of theAllied Powers (France andItaly). The German-speaking majority in Switzerland generally favoured the Central Powers whilst the French-speaking and Italian-speaking populations favoured the Allied Powers. This sparked internal tensions; however, the country was able to maintain its neutrality.[17]
In 1917, the neutrality of Switzerland was brought into question by theGrimm-Hoffmann Affair.Robert Grimm, a Swisssocialist politician, visited Russia in an attempt to negotiate a separate peace agreement betweenRussia and Germany, in order to end the war on theEastern Front in the interests ofsocialism. Grimm was supported byArthur Hoffman, aSwiss Federal Councillor who was in charge of thePolitical Department and headed theForeign Ministry. However, Hoffman had not consulted his fellow Councillors over this initiative, and when a telegram sent between Grimm and Hoffman was made public, the Allied Powers were outraged.
TheLeague of Nations formally recognized Swiss neutrality on February 13, 1920.[12][18] While the policy was not universally admired, it was respected by other countries. As a tribute, the world organization even choseGeneva as itsheadquarters.[19] It also exempted Switzerland from military obligations.[20] However, the country was forced to adopt the so-called "differential neutrality", which required Switzerland to participate in economic sanctions while preserving its military neutrality, a policy initially welcomed to establish the Swiss solidarity with international efforts to promote a peaceful world order.[21] By March 1938, however, the Swiss government was increasingly becoming opposed to this type of neutrality and reverted to absolute neutrality. The shift was not only a case of the Swiss realizing the value of their traditional policies but was also attributed to the deteriorating European economic and political relations in a period preceding World War II.[20]
Switzerland found itself completely surrounded by theAxis powers and Axis-controlled territory for most ofWorld War II.Nazi Germany plannedan invasion of Switzerland, and Switzerland made preparations for such an occurrence. At one point, Switzerland mobilized 850,000 soldiers.[22] Under the leadership ofHenri Guisan, Switzerland developed itsNational Redoubt plan in case of an invasion. Although there were skirmishes in the air, resulting in heavy losses to the Luftwaffe, it never escalated to a full war.
Although Switzerland was criticized by many for its ambiguous stance duringWorld War II, its neutrality has been appreciated on several occasions by both European and non-European leaders.
Of all the neutrals, Switzerland has the greatest right to distinction ... What does it matter whether she has been able to give us the commercial advantages we desire or has given too many to the Germans ...? She has been a democratic state, standing for freedom in self-defence ... and largely on our side.
From 1943 Switzerland stopped American and British aircraft, mainly bombers, overflying Switzerland during the Second World War. On numerous occasions during the war, Allied aircraft trespassed on Swissairspace; mostly damaged Allied bombers returning from raids over Italy and Germany whose crews preferredinternment by the Swiss to becomingprisoners of war. Over a hundred Allied aircraft crews were interned and placed in ski resorts which were left abandoned due to the lack of tourists after the outbreak of war. They were to be held in there until the war had ended.[24] At least 940 American airmen attempted to escape into France after theinvasion of Normandy, but Swiss authorities intercepted 183 internees. Over 160 of these airmen were incarcerated in a Swiss prison camp known asWauwilermoos, which was located near Lucerne and commanded byAndré Béguin, a pro-Nazi Swiss officer. The American internees remained in Wauwilermoos until November 1944 when theU.S. State Department lodged protests against the Swiss government and eventually secured their release.[25]
Switzerland was surrounded by Axis-controlled territory; this meant that they also suffered fromAllied bombings during the war. An example of this would be whenSchaffhausen was accidentally bombed by American planes on April 1, 1944; the town was mistaken forLudwigshafen am Rhein, a German town 284 kilometres away.[24][26][27]
These bombing incidents tested the neutrality of Switzerland as it showed the leniency of the Swiss towards Allied airspace violations. The bombings persisted and eventually Switzerland declared a zero-tolerance policy for violation by either Axis or Allied aircraft and authorised attacks on American aircraft.[28]
The Swiss, although somewhat skeptical, reacted by treating these violations of their neutrality as "accidents". The United States was warned that single aircraft would be forced down, and their crews would still be allowed to seek refuge, while bomber formations in violation of airspace would be intercepted. While American politicians and diplomats tried to minimise the political damage caused by these incidents, others took a more hostile view. Some senior commanders argued that as Switzerland was "full of German sympathisers", it deserved to be bombed.[29] GeneralHenry H. Arnold, Commanding General of theU.S. Army Air Forces, even suggested that it was the Germans themselves who were flying captured Allied planes over Switzerland in an attempt to gain a propaganda victory.[30]
Following World War II, Switzerland began taking a more active role in humanitarian activities.[12]
It joined theUnited Nations aftera March 2002 referendum. 10 years after Switzerland joined theUN, in recorded votes in theUnited Nations General Assembly, Switzerland occupied a middle position, siding from time to time with member states like the United States and Israel, but at other times with countries like China. In theUnited Nations Human Rights Council Switzerland sided much more with Western countries and against countries like China and Russia.[31]
Switzerland participated in the development of theInternational Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC), intended as an oversight mechanism of private security providers. In September 2015, a "Federal Act on Private Security Services provided Abroad" was introduced, in order to "[preserve] Swiss neutrality", as stated in its first article.[32] It requires Switzerland-basedprivate security companies to declare all operations conducted abroad, and to adhere to the ICoC. Moreover, it states that no physical or moral person falling under this law can participate directly—or indirectly through the offer of private security services—in any hostilities abroad.[33] In 2016, the Section of Private Security Services (SPSS), an organ of theFederal Department of Foreign Affairs in charge of the procedures defined by the new law, has received 300 approval requests.[34]
In 2011, Switzerland registered as a candidate for a seat on theUnited Nations Security Council in 2023–2024. In a 2015 report requested by parliament, the government stated that a Swiss seat on the Security Council would be "fully compatible with the principles of neutrality and with Switzerland’s neutrality policy". Opponents of the project such as former ambassador Paul Widmer consider that this seat would "put its [Switzerland] neutrality at risk".[35]
In 2014 Switzerland did not adoptEU-sanctions againstRussia after theannexation of Crimea, but implemented rules that prevented bypassing the sanctions imposed by theEuropean Union.[36]
A 2018 survey found that 95% of Swiss were in favor of maintaining neutrality.[37]
Switzerland was involved inIraqi Invasion of Iran,[38] by providing dual use material and technology thatallowed Iraq to target Iranian troops and civilians,[39] leaving more than 100,000casualties. Switzerland also sold chemical warfare defense equipment to Iran,[40] and later joined a multinational team of specialists dispatched by the UN to Iran to investigate and confirm the casualties.
The Swiss Armed Forces participated in the U.S.-ledWar in Afghanistan as observers, in what the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation described as the nation's "first military deployment since 1815".[41] During the2003 invasion of Iraq, theUnited States was given permission to use Swiss airspace for surveillance missions overIraq.[42]
Switzerland sent weapons toEgypt,Bahrain,Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, some of which were involved in theSaudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen.[43]
TheRussian invasion of Ukraine sparked debate over the meaning and status of Swiss neutrality.[44] In February 2022, Switzerland adoptedsanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia in response to the invasion.[45][46][47] While Switzerland followsdefined rules to remain neutral in military conflicts, it imposed sanctions for this "serious violation of the most fundamental norms of international law ... within the scope of its political room for manoeuvre".[48]
According to federal councilorViola Amherd, Switzerland is only involved in humanitarian missions and will not allow direct shipments of arms to the war zone from or through its territory.[49] Irrespective of the actual laws governing aneutral country, many media outlets still labelled this as a break with 500 years of Swiss neutrality.[50][51][52] Russia perceived the sanctions in a similar way, as it rejected Switzerland's offer to mediate the conflict.[53]
In February 2022, Switzerland further adopted the sanctioning of Russia by the European Union and froze many Russian bank accounts.[54] Analysts said the move would affect theSwiss economy.[55][56]
In March 2022, formerSwiss federal councilorChristoph Blocher announced theballot initiative 'Pro Souveräne Schweiz' (PSS), which would amend "integral neutrality" to theSwiss constitution. If approved, economic sanctions for example against Russia in 2022, would constitute a violation of Swiss neutrality. The initiative scheduled to be launched in fall 2022 was supported by the right-leaningSwiss People's Party (SVP).[57]
In April 2022, theFederal Department of Economic Affairs vetoedGermany's request tore-export Swiss ammunition to Ukraine on the basis of Swiss neutrality and the mandatory rejection criteria of the war material legislation.[58] The defence ministry of Switzerland, initiated a report in May 2022 analyzing various military options, including increased cooperation and joint military exercises with NATO.[59] However, NATO membership remains unpopular. A poll from March 2022 found that 27% of those surveyed supported Switzerland joining NATO, while 67% were opposed.[60] Another from May 2022 indicated 33% of Swiss supportedNATO membership for Switzerland, and 56% supported increased ties with NATO.[59]
In September 2022 theParliament of Switzerland voted against a revision of its law to impose independent sanctions.[61] Therefore Switzerland can still only adopt sanctions imposed by theUnited Nations Security Council, theEU or theOECD.[61]
In July 2023, Switzerland signed a declaration of intent to join theEuropean Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), to contribute to building a pan-European air andmissile defense system, while also allowing the nation to train with and purchase military systems together with otherEuropean nations, newly raising questions about the future and practicalities of the policy of neutrality.[62] In October 2024 Switzerland joined the ESSI.[63]
Areferendum on enshrining neutrality into Switzerland's constitution is expected in 2025, after sufficient signatures were collected to certify the initiative.[64]
Swiss neutrality has been questioned at times, notably regardingSwitzerland's role during World War II and theICRC, the lootedNazi gold (and later duringOperation Gladio), its economic ties to theapartheid regime inSouth Africa, and more recently in theCrypto AG espionage case.[65][66][67][68][69][70]
Swiss aid to Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February 2022 has led some to questioning whether Switzerland is fully neutral anymore. Some have called for changing the laws of neutrality.[71]
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