Neutrality (international politics)

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The neutrality (from Latin neuter , neither) of a state means either standing aside in a specific conflict between other states or generally denotes the general policy of neutrality. Of Continual neutrality is when a State committed to permanent neutrality in all conflicts. Of neutralism is when a State holds out not only from conflict but a matter of principle any alliances avoids.

The Irish merchant ship Irish Polar put large flag and country name markings on the side of the ship during World War II to warn submarines that this ship was neutral.

Since the neutrality of merchant ships, in particular, was not always respected by the great powers in lengthy conflicts, neutral powers expressly joined forces on several occasions to form an armed neutrality in order to enforce respect for neutral ships in the price law .

Historical development of neutrality

Neutrality has a centuries-old tradition in Switzerland : after a lengthy phase of expansionary politics, the heavy defeat in the battle of Marignano in 1515 meant the end of federal power politics. This de facto neutrality was then recognized under international law by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The term became generally more important when the modern states emerged. After the time of Napoleon , individual states decided in the 19th century to be neutral in principle. They did not enter into any alliances. Belgium , which was established in 1830 and which the great powers assured neutrality, was one of them.

In 1899 and 1907 the Hague Peace Conferences defined more precisely what behavior can be expected from a neutral state. Even in peacetime he has to behave in such a way that, in the event of war, he can credibly establish that he does not favor or disadvantage any of the warring parties and that he does not take part in or promote any combat operations . This is not only about military matters, but also about economic relations , which are to be designed neutrally. The behavior of the neutral thus includes not only the formal freedom of association, but also the credibility of the neutral attitude. Only in this way can the neutral at best avoid being attacked preventively as a potential enemy in war.

The First World War began when Germany violated Belgian neutrality . During the war, some of the neutral states remained neutral (the Netherlands , Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries ), others eventually joined one of the two alliances (e.g. the USA of the Triple Entente as an associated power ). It was similar in World War II . A number of states remained neutral: Sweden, for example, supplied iron ore for the German war industry, but took in many German refugees. Spain let German ships call at Spanish ports like those on the other side. Switzerland supplied war material and served Nazi Germany with the economic exploitation of looted gold , but at the same time acted as a listening post for the Allies in the middle of the German sphere of influence.

In the sense of international law , neutrality is primarily defined militarily today: Anyone who does not belong to an offensive warring warring party or any military alliance is neutral. A defensive war is allowed to a neutral country, and in certain cases it is even obliged to do so.

Today's development

Several states that were neutral during the Cold War era are discussing the extent of their remaining neutrality or freedom of association. Sometimes very violently, namely Finland , Sweden , Austria and Switzerland . The first three have been EU members since 1995 and participate in its common foreign and security policy and common security and defense policy . They are therefore no longer neutral, but neither are they NATO members and are thus militarily non- aligned. This is no longer a matter of substantiating a neutral position towards third parties, but rather the results of (internal) political expediency (see: Austrian neutrality ). Switzerland, on the other hand, has not joined the EU and will retain its independent position for the time being.

As far as the actual security of these countries is concerned, Switzerland and Austria are together exclusively surrounded by NATO member states and the Principality of Liechtenstein . Sweden has two NATO member states and Finland as immediate neighbors. Only Finland borders on Russia , which is neither a member of NATO nor the EU.

Countries with neutral politics (historical or current)

Neutral states

The “neutrality” of a country initially refers to an impartial stance in a particular international conflict or situation. “Neutral states” are those countries whose foreign policy aims to adopt such an attitude in (if possible) all international conflicts. Some of these states have developed a tradition of mediating role in international politics.

  • Belgium's neutrality was guaranteed by the great powers when it was established at the London Conference . The breach of this treaty by Germany induced Great Britain to enter the First World War . After that it worked partly with France militarily and in 1949 joined NATO .
  • In 1983, in view of the intensification of the civil wars in Central America, Costa Rica proclaimed the country's permanent, active and unarmed neutrality. The army was abolished by the constitution on May 8, 1949. Today Costa Rica is considered to be one of the most stable and progressive countries in Central America, which is also attributed to these decisions.
  • Denmark was neutral in World War I, but joined NATO in the Cold War.
  • Finland gained independence after the First World War . In the interwar period it had less significant agreements with Poland and the Soviet Union . In 1939 it was attacked by the Soviet Union in the Winter War and was allied with Germany in the so-called Continuation War from 1941 to 1944 . After the war Finland remained neutral, but had to sign a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union. The term Finlandization , coined by German politicians, was rejected by the Finns; they believed that it was beneficial for the country not to offend the nearby and large Soviet Union. Finland has been a member of the EU since 1995 and remained militarily non-aligned.
  • India is one of the founding and leading members of the Non-Aligned Movement .
  • After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1921, Ireland kept its distance from its former motherland militarily and politically; it remained neutral in World War II and has been an EU member since 1973, but not a NATO member.
  • Italy remained neutral in World War I until 1915, although it was previously allied with Germany and Austria-Hungary . In 1915 Italy entered the war on the side of the Entente.
  • Under its head of state Josip Broz Tito , who refused to join the Eastern Bloc , Yugoslavia was a leader in the global movement of the non-aligned states in the 1950s to 1970s .
  • Cambodia has been neutral since independence and tried to remain neutral during the Vietnam War . Since the Ho Chi Minh Trail , on which the Viet Cong received support from North Vietnam , partly ran through Cambodian territory, the country was drawn more and more into the conflict from the late 1960s.
  • After the First World War, Liechtenstein closely followed Switzerland's neutral foreign policy; it is still represented by the Swiss ambassador in many countries.
  • Luxembourg was occupied by Germany in both World Wars and, like Belgium, joined NATO in 1949 .
  • Moldova has been neutral since 1994.
  • Nepal remained officially neutral in both world wars, but made mercenaries ( gurkhas ) available to the British Indian Army .
  • Norway was neutral in World War I, but joined NATO in the Cold War.
  • Austria declared its permanent neutrality on October 26, 1955 ; Since joining the EU in 1995, this has been put into perspective by other constitutional laws, but Austria still does not belong to any military alliance.
  • In 1916, at the request of Great Britain, Portugal sent an expeditionary force to the Western Front . Neutral in World War II, it joined NATO in the Cold War.
  • Sweden has been neutral since the Napoleonic Wars . The country officially gave up its neutrality in 2002, but still does not belong to any military alliance.
  • The Switzerland is neutral since 1815 and making it the oldest neutral country in Europe.
  • The Turkey was neutral during World War II for the longest time. In 1945 she declared war on Germany and Japan . One contingent took part in the Korean War as part of the UN forces . In 1952 Turkey joined NATO.
  • Turkmenistan declared its neutrality in 1995. Radically enforced for over two decades, the attitude of the Turkmen government changed when the current dictator Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow took office .
  • The Ukraine was neutral 1990-2014.
  • The USA was neutral at the beginning of the world wars, but then joined the Allied side in 1917 and 1941 respectively. The neutrality or “ isolationism ” was based on the Monroe doctrine : the United States forbade Europeans to interfere on the American continent. At the same time, the United States stayed out of conflict in Europe. However, since the Spanish-American War of 1898 , the USA had also been an obviously imperialist colonial power in Central America and in the Pacific region .

literature

  • Pascal Lottaz / Herbert R. Reginbogin (eds.): Notions of Neutralities , Lanham (MD): Lexington Books 2019, ISBN 978-1498582261 .
  • Neutrality , in: Matthias Herdegen: Völkerrecht , Grundrisse des Rechts, CH Beck, 14th edition 2015, ISBN 978-3406675881 , Rn. 1-4.
  • Andreas Maislinger : Costa Rica. Inn-Verlag, Innsbruck 1985.
  • Robert Chr. Van Ooyen: Swiss neutrality in armed conflicts after 1945. Frankfurt a. M./Bern [u. a.] 1992.
  • Jürgen W. Schmidt: No torpedoes for Spain - on the handling of the neutrality obligation by the German Reich during the Spanish-American War in 1898 . In: Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv, Vol. 29 (2007), pp. 317-330.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David X. Noack: Politics of Neutrality in the Post-Soviet Space: A Comparison of Concepts, Practices, and Outcomes of Neutrality in Moldova, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine 1990–2015 , in: Pascal Lottaz / Herbert R. Reginbogin (ed. ): Notions of Neutralities , Lanham (MD): Lexington Books 2019, pp. 267–288.
  2. ↑ Sweden: End of a Trauma , in: Der Spiegel , August 26, 2002, accessed on March 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ David X. Noack: Politics of Neutrality in the Post-Soviet Space: A Comparison of Concepts, Practices, and Outcomes of Neutrality in Moldova, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine 1990–2015 , in: Pascal Lottaz / Herbert R. Reginbogin (ed. ): Notions of Neutralities , Lanham (MD): Lexington Books 2019, pp. 267–288.
  4. ↑ David X. Noack: Politics of Neutrality in the Post-Soviet Space: A Comparison of Concepts, Practices, and Outcomes of Neutrality in Moldova, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine 1990–2015 , in: Pascal Lottaz / Herbert R. Reginbogin (ed. ): Notions of Neutralities , Lanham (MD): Lexington Books 2019, pp. 267–288.