A group of engaged citizens in Switzerland has started the process for a political initiative with the goal of writing a definition of the country’s signature foreign policy into its constitution. If the initiative is signed by 100’000 eligible voters by May 2024, this will lead to a mandatory referendum in a few years time….
This lecture is not intended to trace the “history of neutrality” of Switzerland. Rather, the aim is to ask which framework conditions were considered indispensable for the maintenance of neutrality around 1815. It ties in with research on political and economic reforms, but also on the construction of national identities in 19th century Switzerland.
Although Switzerland’s Federal Council rejected its Foreign Minister’s idea for “cooperative neutrality”, the new security doctrine it recently approved reverses parts of the alpine nation’s traditional neutrality concept. Preparations for collective defense with NATO and EU-states are underway.
