Lethal neutrality: Switzerland as a reference |
Or when the country saves itself and morality is left outside
In a world of conflict where only countries interests matter, can neutrality truly exist?
Swiss history offers a brutal answer: neutrality has no moral existence. It protects countries, not lives. And when it is sacralized, it can become a form of escape.
From 1942 to sanctions: how neutrality becomes a refuge
Swiss neutrality is often told as an Alpine wisdom: standing upright when the world tilts, speaking to everyone without selling oneself to anyone, weathering storms without capsizing. It is a comforting story. It is also dangerously incomplete.
Neutrality is not a moral principle. It is an instrument of survival. And when brandished as an absolute value, it can lead to the worst: shutting the door on those who are about to die, then explaining that one merely “followed the rules.”
History shows this without ambiguity. In 1942, Swiss neutrality provided the framework for the return of Jewish refugees to a foreseeable death. This was neither an accident nor a mishape. It was the logical consequence of a neutrality devoid of any ethical compass.
A neutrality born of calculation, turned into a civil religion
Switzerland’s permanent neutrality was not a moral ideal born in the mountains. It was imposed in 1815 by the big European powers, eager to create a stable buffer country at the heart of the continent.
At the outset, it was a strategic arrangement. Over time, it became a civil religion, an identity marker, almost a dogma.
Neutrality ceased to be merely a status; it became a supposed virtue. And like all sacralized virtues, it stopped being questioned.
Cohesion, prosperity… and a human blind spot
Let us face it: neutrality pays.
It consolidates a country fragmented into cantons, languages, and........