Europe’s “neutral” countries are having to adapt to the new world

Government policies come and go, the victims of trends and fickle public opinion. The Swiss attachment to neutrality has had more staying power than most. Historians disagree whether it was formally adopted in 1515 or merely in 1648, or perhaps even as recently as 1815. Either way the idea that Switzerland should steer clear of foreign military entanglements has proved nearly as durable as its Alpine backdrops and discreet banks. Other countries have copied it. Before Russia attacked Ukraine last February, half a dozen European countries described themselves as neutral. Once the approach had an enlightened tinge to it: the virtuous foreign policy of well-run Nordic types. These days it looks hopelessly naive, if not worse. Some countries have binned the concept while others are sticking to their pacifist guns.

Whether Switzerland—Europe’s 20th-most-populous country, with just 9m people—is pitching in to a conflict may scarcely be noticeable to either belligerent. Yet the question has gained unexpected importance in recent weeks. The Bern government’s attachment to neutrality includes not sending arms made in Switzerland to war zones, nor allowing countries that had previously bought Swiss arms to re-export them without prior approval. Such authorisation has been refused to Spain and Germany, which want to forward Swiss-made kit and ammunition in their arsenals to help Ukraine fend off Russia. Swiss obstinacy has been lambasted by those on the front lines. “Ukraine sees this not as neutrality but as undermining our defence capabilities,” tweeted Anton Gerashchenko, a government adviser in Kyiv.