Navigating Swiss Neutrality - Switzerland, the UN and Right-Wing Discourse on Neutrality 2002-2022

Abstract

[""Swiss neutrality, once seen as straight-forward, has become a disputed concept. Recent events, such as Switzerland’s election to the UN Security Council and the Russo-Ukrainian war, have put the country’s neutrality into question. This thesis aims to fill the gap in understanding the evolution of public debate on Swiss neutrality from the government’s successful campaign to join the UN in 2002 to the recent criticism from the right-wing, represented by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). The impact of domestic discourse on foreign policy, particularly from the right-wing, has received limited attention in previous research. Public debate, including political and demographic data, is examined through the lens of neutrality as a decision-making framework. Findings reveal that the UN accession provided a starting point for the SVP to refine their neutrality definition. The ‘neutrality initiative’ symbolises the preliminary climax of the shift of the right-wing from a reactive to a proactive stance on neutrality. The government seems to merely react to the SVP’s efforts to anchor their neutrality definition in the constitution. This thesis sheds light on the complexities of Swiss neutrality and underlines the need for a comprehensive and robust neutrality definition to shape public discourse and policy decisions.""]