Swiss neutrality

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One of the main principles of Switzerland's foreign policy is that Switzerland 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 of military neutrality in the world;^[3] it has not participated in a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. However, the country did have a civil war in 1847.

Although the European powers (Austria, France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Sweden) agreed at the Congress of Vienna in May 1815 that Switzerland should be neutral, final ratification was delayed until after Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated so that some coalition forces could invade France via Swiss territory.^[4]

The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation; it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815^[5][6] apart from the Sonderbund War (Switzerland civil war), joining the League of Nations in 1920^[5] and did not join the United 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 imposed economic sanctions on Russia and froze a significant amount of assets held by Russian civilians and companies as "punishment" for the invasion of Ukraine. Some described this as "a sharp deviation from the country's traditional neutrality."^[10] According to Swiss president Ignazio Cassis in 2022 during a World 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]