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Europe in 1910 with World War I alliances highlighted. Switzerland (yellow) found itself surrounded by members of opposing alliances. During the First World War, Switzerland sustained its policy of neutrality despite sharing land borders with two of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) and two of the Allied Powers (France and Italy).
Switzerland has maintained a policy of armed neutrality since the 16th century and has not fought an international war since 1815. It joined the United Nations only in 2002 but pursues an active foreign policy that includes frequent involvement in peace building and global governance . [ 21 ]
An example of a permanently neutral power is Switzerland. The concept of neutrality in war is narrowly defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognized right to remain neutral. Neutralism or a "neutralist policy" is a foreign policy position wherein a state intends to remain neutral in ...
In 1917 Switzerland's neutrality came into question when the Grimm–Hoffmann Affair erupted. Robert Grimm , a Swiss socialist politician, travelled to Russia as an activist to negotiate a separate peace between Russia and Germany, in order to end the war on the Eastern Front in the interests of socialism and pacifism .
To illustrate, Switzerland only participated in the sanctions imposed by the League of Nations against Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in a symbolic capacity. Furthermore, it was the first neutral country to recognize the Italian colonial empire in Africa in December 1936.
The Campaign for an Independent and Neutral Switzerland (German: Aktion für eine unabhängige und neutrale Schweiz or AUNS, French: Action pour une Suisse indépendante et neutre or ASIN, Italian: Azione per una Svizzera neutrale e indipendente or ASNI), abbreviated to AUNS, is a political organisation in Switzerland that supports Swiss independence and neutrality.
Switzerland is surrounded by the European Union but not an EU member itself, thereby also maintaining its neutrality with regard to EU membership and the EU mutual defence clause enshrined in Article 42.7 of the consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, although the EU treaty also provides for neutral countries to maintain their ...
Switzerland is the oldest neutral country in the world; it has not fought a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1815. It is not a member of the European Union. [1] Swiss cultural icons include Switzerland's quality of life, its neutrality, the Swiss Alps, watches, yodeling, cheese and chocolate.