On Sunday, 70 percent of Swiss voters rejected a referendum that would have prevented the government from adopting EU sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

“Switzerland has been neutral for the better part of the past 400 years,” the small Alpine nation states on its website—recounting its long history as an island of peace in the center of European turmoil. “This neutrality is permanent and armed, and it gives Switzerland some leeway to safeguard its national interests.”

Switzerland’s neutrality—defended by helpful mountain geography and an able military discouraging would-be aggressors—successfully kept it out of both World Wars. Switzerland did not join the United Nations until 2002 and has no plans to join the European Union or NATO, and has assiduously avoided foreign entanglements that might see it drawn into an armed conflict.

Still, even as the population strongly supports maintaining neutrality, on Sunday, the nation voted down a hardline proposal that would have further tightened its neutrality laws and its ability to interact with the rest of Europe. Approximately 70 percent of Swiss voters rejected a plebiscite that called for a strictly defined version of neutrality to be written directly into the Swiss constitution.

The cause of the motion had been Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was highly unpopular in Switzerland and led it to implement sanctions against Russian assets on its territory. The motion would have made such sanctions harder to implement; it was supported by the far-right Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which remains Switzerland’s largest political organization. 

Even as the nation prepared for the results of the referendum that was held on Sunday, politicians suggested it spurred a national debate regarding Swiss neutrality.

About Switzerland’s “Flexible Neutrality” Policy

Swiss neutrality dates back more than 200 years, following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. The series of conflicts lasted 12 years, from 1803 to 1815, but its origins could be traced back even further to the French Revolutionary Wars that began in 1792 and lasted until 1799. The era saw 23 years of nearly continuous conflict in Europe—conflicts that Switzerland remained outside of by dint of its refusal to align with any outside power.

However, Bern’s long-standing diplomatic policy of “flexible neutrality” allows the government to adapt that neutral stance to changing global events, cooperate with international partners, and apply economic sanctions while maintaining military non-alignment.

Under this policy, Switzerland is allowed to join non-military sanctions enacted by bodies such as the United Nations (UN) or the European Union (EU) when international law or global order is violated. As a result of this policy, Bern adopted EU sanctions against Russia in 2022. It also broke from its traditional role as a neutral financial broker to freeze assets of blacklisted Russian individuals and companies, and the Swiss government has repeatedly updated its domestic rules to match consecutive EU packages that targeted Russian banking, energy sectors, and Moscow’s “shadow fleet.”

Critics of these sanctions, including many in the SVP, have argued that they have eroded Swiss neutrality.

What If the Neutrality Referendum Had Passed?

The hard-right “Neutrality Initiative,” which was backed by the SVP, sought to strictly enshrine permanent rigid neutrality into the Federal Constitution. If it had passed, it would have banned independent sanctions against warring states unless mandated directly by the United Nations—effectively making it impossible for Bern to implement EU sanctions on Russia.

By voting down the measure, the Swiss people in essence chose to preserve the government’s freedom to apply a flexible approach. “The result was an overwhelming endorsement of flexible, pragmatic, à la carte neutrality, capable of adjusting to Europe’s new security challenges,” the French-based Le Monde suggested.

While the SVP supported the measure, most Swiss political parties and many in the current Swiss government opposed it, warning that Switzerland would be an unreliable partner in international security policy—which in turn would leave the Alpine nation less secure if it came under attack.

“Voters understood what the SVP wanted: it wanted Switzerland to isolate itself internationally and shirk its responsibilities when international law is being trampled on,” Sibel Arslan, a lawmaker for the Green Party, told The Guardian.

Don’t Worry, Switzerland Isn’t Joining NATO Any Time Soon

Switzerland isn’t a member of NATO, and likely never will be. Still, Bern has cooperated with the transatlantic military alliance for more than 30 years since the end of the Cold War.

Even that policy has raised the ire of some in NATO. Given that the alliance encompasses Switzerland on all sides, it is effectively protecting Switzerland without compensation, leading former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt to label Bern a “free rider” on NATO security guarantees. Austria, another neutral nation surrounded by NATO members, has the same geographic setup, and Bildt suggested that its post-World War II neutrality was an anachronism that could be put aside.

For now, however, Switzerland’s status will remain unchanged. It will be neutral, but what exactly that means will be determined selectively into the future.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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