A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of non-combatant status, nationals of neutral countries enjoy protection under the law of war from belligerent actions to a greater extent than other non-combatants such as enemy civilians and prisoners of war. Different countries interpret their neutrality differently: [1] some, such as Costa Rica have demilitarized, while Switzerland holds to "armed neutrality", to deter aggression with a sizeable military, while barring itself from foreign deployment.
Not all neutral countries avoid any foreign deployment or alliances, as Austria and Ireland have active UN peacekeeping forces and a political alliance within the European Union. Sweden's traditional policy was not to participate in military alliances, with the intention of staying neutral in the case of war. Immediately before World War II, the Nordic countries stated their neutrality, but Sweden changed its position to that of non-belligerent at the start of the Winter War. Sweden would uphold its policy of neutrality until the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the Cold War, former Yugoslavia claimed military and ideological neutrality from both the Western and Eastern Bloc, becoming a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement.
There have been considerable changes to the interpretation of neutral conduct over the past centuries. [2]
Belligerents may not invade neutral territory, [6] and a neutral power's resisting any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality. [7]
A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory, [8] but not escaped prisoners of war. [9] Belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citizens, [10] but they may go abroad to enlist. [11] Belligerent armies' personnel and materiel may not be transported across neutral territory, [12] but the wounded may be. [13] A neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents, [14] but not war materiel, [15] although it need not prevent export of such materiel. [16]
Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, though neutrals may impose different restrictions. [17] Exceptions are to make repairs—only the minimum necessary to put back to sea [18] —or if an opposing belligerent's vessel is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start. [19] A prize ship captured by a belligerent in the territorial waters of a neutral power must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral, which must intern its crew. [20]
Neutrality has been recognised in different ways, and sometimes involves a formal guarantor. For example, Switzerland and Belgium's neutrality was recognized by the signatories of the Congress of Vienna, [21] Austria has its neutrality guaranteed by its four former occupying powers, and Finland by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The form of recognition varies, often by bilateral treaty (Finland), multilateral treaty (Austria) or a UN declaration (Turkmenistan). These treaties can in some ways be forced on a country (Austria's neutrality was insisted upon by the Soviet Union) but in other cases it is an active policy of the country concerned to respond to a geopolitical situation (Ireland in the Second World War). [22]
For the country concerned, the policy is usually codified beyond the treaty itself. Austria and Japan codify their neutrality in their constitutions, but they do so with different levels of detail. Some details of neutrality are left to be interpreted by the government while others are explicitly stated; for example, Austria may not host any foreign bases, and Japan cannot participate in foreign wars. Yet Sweden, lacking formal codification, was more flexible during the Second World War in allowing troops to pass through its territory. [22]
Armed neutrality is the posture of a state or group of states that has no alliance with either side of a war but asserts that it will defend itself against resulting incursions from any party, [23] making the benefit to a belligerent of entering the country by force not worth the cost.[ citation needed ]
This may include:
The term derives from the historic maritime neutrality of the First League of Armed Neutrality of the Nordic countries and Russia under the leadership of Catherine the Great, which was invented in the late 18th century but has since been used only to refer to countries' neutralities. [26] Sweden and Switzerland are independently of each other famed for their armed neutralities, which they maintained throughout both World War I and World War II. [27] The Swiss and the Swedes each have a long history of neutrality: they have not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and 1814, respectively. Switzerland continues to pursue, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. [28] According to Edwin Reischauer, "To be neutral you must be ready to be highly militarized, like Switzerland or Sweden." [29] Sweden ended its policy of neutrality when it joined NATO in 2024.
In contrast, some neutral states may heavily reduce their military and use it for the express purpose of home defense and the maintenance of their neutrality, while other neutral states may abandon military power altogether (examples of states doing this include Liechtenstein). However, the lack of a military does not always result in neutrality: Countries such as Costa Rica and Iceland replaced their standing army with a military guarantee from a stronger power or participation in a mutual defense pact (under TIAR and NATO respectively).
For many states, such as Ireland, neutrality does not mean the absence of any foreign interventionism. Peacekeeping missions for the United Nations are seen as intertwined with it. [35] The Swiss electorate rejected a 1994 proposal to join UN peacekeeping operations. Despite this, 23 Swiss observers and police have been deployed around the world in UN projects. [36]
The legitimacy of whether some states are as neutral as they claim has been questioned in some circles, although this depends largely on a state's interpretation of its form of neutrality.
There are three members of the European Union that still describe themselves as a neutral country in some form: Austria, Ireland, and Malta. With the development of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, the extent to which they are, or should be, neutral is debated.
For example, Ireland, which sought guarantees for its neutrality in EU treaties, argues that its neutrality does not mean that Ireland should avoid engagement in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. [37]
Since the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty, EU members are bound by TEU, Article 42.7, which obliges states to assist a fellow member that is the victim of armed aggression. It accords "an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in [other member states'] power" but would "not prejudice the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States" (neutral policies), allowing members to respond with non-military aid. Ireland's constitution prohibits participating in such a common defence.
With the launch of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defense at the end of 2017, the EU's activity on military matters has increased. The policy was designed to be inclusive and allows states to opt in or out of specific forms of military cooperation. That has allowed most of the neutral states to participate, but opinions still vary. Some members of the Irish Parliament considered Ireland's joining PESCO as an abandonment of neutrality. It was passed with the government arguing that its opt-in nature allowed Ireland to "join elements of PESCO that were beneficial such as counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and peacekeeping... what we are not going to be doing is buying aircraft carriers and fighter jets". Malta, as of December 2017, is the only neutral state not to participate in PESCO. The Maltese government argued that it was going to wait and see how PESCO develops to see whether it would compromise Maltese neutrality. [38]
"Neutrality is a negative word. It does not express what America ought to feel. We are not trying to keep out of trouble; we are trying to preserve the foundations on which peace may be rebuilt.” |
— Woodrow Wilson |
Many countries made neutrality declarations during World War II. However, of the European states closest to the war, only Andorra, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland (with Liechtenstein), and Vatican City (the Holy See) remained neutral to the end.
Their fulfillment to the letter of the rules of neutrality has been questioned: Ireland supplied important secret information to the Allies; for instance, the date of D-Day was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information, some of it supplied by Ireland but kept from Germany. Ireland also secretly allowed Allied aircraft to use the Donegal Corridor, making it possible for British planes to attack German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic. On the other hand, both Axis and Allied pilots who crash landed in Ireland were interned. [39]
Sweden and Switzerland, surrounded by possessions and allies of Nazi Germany similarly made concessions to Nazi requests as well as to Allied requests. [40] Sweden was also involved in intelligence operations with the Allies, including listening stations in Sweden and espionage in Germany. Spain offered to join the war on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940, allowed Axis ships and submarines to use its ports, imported war materials for Germany, and sent a Spanish volunteer combat division to aid the Nazi war effort. Portugal officially stayed neutral, but actively supported both the Allies by providing overseas naval bases, and Germany by selling tungsten.
The United States was initially neutral and bound by the Neutrality Acts of 1936 not to sell war materials to belligerents. Once war broke out, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt persuaded Congress to replace the act with the Cash and carry program that allowed the US to provide military aid to the allies, despite opposition from non-interventionist members. [41] The "Cash and carry" program was replaced in March 1941 by Lend-Lease, effectively ending the US pretense of neutrality.
Sweden also made concessions to the German Reich during the war to maintain its neutrality, the biggest concession was to let the 163rd German Infantry Division to be transferred from Norway to Finland by Swedish trains, to aid the Finns in the Continuation War. The decision caused a political "Midsummer Crisis" of 1941, about Sweden's neutrality.
Equally, Vatican City made various diplomatic concessions to the Axis and Allied powers alike, while still keeping to the rules of the Law of Neutrality. The Holy See has been criticized—but largely exonerated later—for its silence on moral issues of the war. [42]
Some countries may occasionally claim to be "neutral" but not comply with the internationally agreed upon definition of neutrality as listed above. [43]
State | Period(s) of neutrality | Notes |
---|---|---|
Andorra | 1914–present |
|
Austria | 1955–present (Declaration of Neutrality) |
|
Costa Rica | 1949–present |
|
Ghana | 2012–present | |
Haiti | 2017–present |
|
Ireland | 1939–present [56] |
|
Liechtenstein | 1868–present | |
Malta | 1980–present |
|
Mexico | 1930–present |
|
Moldova | 1994–present |
|
Monaco | 1945–present |
|
Mongolia | 2015–present |
|
Panama | 1990–present |
|
Rwanda | 2009–present |
|
San Marino | 1945–present |
|
Serbia | 2007–present |
|
Switzerland | 1815–present |
|
Turkmenistan | 1995–present |
|
Uzbekistan | 2012–present |
|
Vatican City | 1929–present |
|
State | Period(s) of neutrality | Notes |
---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1939–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Albania | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1968 (attempted neutrality during the Prague Spring) |
|
Argentina | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1939–1945 (attempted neutrality during World War II) |
|
Belgium | 1839–1914 (to World War I) 1936–1940 (to World War II) |
|
Bhutan | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1939–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Cambodia | 1955–1970 (to Vietnam War) |
|
Chile | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1938–1943 (to World War II) |
|
Colombia | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1933–1943 (to World War II) |
|
Denmark | 1864–1940 (after Second Schleswig War to World War II) |
|
El Salvador | 1906–1941 (to World War II) |
|
Estonia | 1938–1939 (to World War II) |
|
Ethiopia | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) |
|
Finland | 1935–1939 (to Winter War) 1956–2022 (from return of Porkkala rental area to 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine) |
|
Greenland | 1940–1941 (from Fall of Denmark to World War II) | |
Haudenosaunee | 1783–1917 (to World War I) | |
Hawaii | 1854–1898 (to annexation) |
|
Hungary | 1956 (attempted neutrality during the Hungarian Revolution) |
|
Iceland | 1918–1940 (to World War II) |
|
Iran | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1939–1943 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Italy | 1914–1915 (to World War I) |
|
Laos | 1955–1975 (ostensibly neutral throughout the Vietnam War) |
|
Latvia | 1938–1939 (to World War II) |
|
Liberia | 1914–1917 (to World War I) 1939–1944 (to World War II) |
|
Lithuania | 1939 (to World War II) |
|
Luxembourg | 1839–1914 (to World War I) 1920–1940 (to World War II) |
|
Nepal | 1858–1914 (to World War I) 1918–1939 (to World War II) |
|
Netherlands | 1839–1940 (to World War II) |
|
Norway | 1814–1940 (to World War II) |
|
Oklahoma | 1834–1861 (to U.S. Civil War) 1866–1907 (to annexation and statehood admission) |
|
Orange Free State | 1854–1899 (to Second Boer War) |
|
Portugal | 1932–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Spain | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1940–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Sweden | 1814–2022 |
|
Texas | 1836–1846 (to annexation) 1861 (to U.S. Civil War) |
|
Thailand | 1940–1941 (to World War II) |
|
Tibet | 1939–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Tonga | 1845–1939 (to World War II) |
|
Turkey | 1940–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Ukraine | 1991–2014 (to Russo-Ukrainian War) |
|
United States | 1914–1917 (to World War I) 1939–1941 (to World War II) |
|
Uruguay | 1870–1945 (to World War II) |
|
Venezuela | 1914–1918 (neutral during World War I) 1939–1942 (to World War II) | |
Yemen | 1939–1945 (neutral during World War II) |
|
Yugoslavia | 1940–1941 (to World War II) 1949–1992 (to Yugoslav Wars) |
|
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent armed forces but are protected because of their specific duties ; combatants who are placed hors de combat; and neutral persons, such as peacekeepers, who are not involved in fighting for one of the belligerents involved in a war. This particular status was first recognized under the Geneva Conventions with the First Geneva Convention of 1864.
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union (EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas such as funding to third countries, etc. Decisions require unanimity among member states in the Council of the European Union, but once agreed, certain aspects can be further decided by qualified majority voting. Foreign policy is chaired and represented by the EU's High Representative, currently Josep Borrell.
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government, in order to create a state of war between two or more states.
Co-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy with or without a military alliance. Generally, the term is used for cases where no formal treaty of alliance exists. Likewise, allies may not become co-belligerents in a war if a casus foederis invoking the alliance has not arisen. Co-belligerents are defined in the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law as "states engaged in a conflict with a common enemy, whether in alliance with each other or not".
A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war.
Ireland is one of four members of the European Union that are not members of NATO. The others are Austria, Cyprus and Malta. The country has a longstanding policy of military neutrality: it does not join military alliances or defence pacts, or take part in international conflicts. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time. Ireland declared itself a neutral state during the Second World War, and during the Cold War it did not join NATO nor the Non-Aligned Movement. Since the 1970s, some have defined it more broadly to include a commitment to "United Nations peacekeeping, human rights and disarmament". Recent Irish governments have defined it narrowly as non-membership of military defensive alliances. The compatibility of neutrality with Ireland's membership of the European Union has been a point of debate in EU treaty referendum campaigns since the 1990s. The Seville Declarations on the Treaty of Nice acknowledge Ireland's "traditional policy of military neutrality". The Irish Defence Forces have been involved in many UN peacekeeping missions.
Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling power's own sovereign territory. The controlled territory is called occupied territory, and the ruling power is called the occupant. Occupation is distinguished from annexation, colonialism, or apartheid in that it is a power structure that the occupant intends to keep in place only temporarily. The occupant often establishes military rule to facilitate administration of the occupied territory, though this is not a necessary characteristic of occupation.
Sweden had a policy of neutrality in armed conflicts from the early 19th century, until 2009, when it entered into various mutual defence treaties with the European Union (EU), and other Nordic countries. The policy originated largely as a result of Sweden's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars, during which over a third of the country's territory was lost in the Finnish War (1808–1809), including the traumatic loss of Finland to Russia, which it remained part of until Finland gained independence in 1917. Resentment towards the Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf, who had consistently pursued an anti-Napoleonic policy and thereby caused the war, precipitated a coup d'état known as the Coup of 1809. The new regime deposed the king and introduced the Instrument of Government (1809), later formulating a new foreign policy that became known as The Policy of 1812.
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.
During World War I and World War II, Switzerland maintained armed neutrality, and was not invaded by its neighbors, in part because of its topography, much of which is mountainous. Germany was a threat, and Switzerland built a powerful defense. It served as a "protecting power" for the belligerents of both sides, with a special role in helping prisoners of war. The belligerent states made it the scene for diplomacy, espionage, and commerce, as well as being a safe haven for 300,000 refugees.
A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state- the protected power- in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with each other. The protecting power is responsible for looking after the protected power's diplomatic property and citizens in the hosting state. If diplomatic relations were broken by the outbreak of war, the protecting power will also inquire into the welfare of prisoners of war and look after the interests of civilians in enemy-occupied territory.
The neutral powers were countries that remained neutral during World War II. Some of these countries had large colonies abroad or had great economic power. Spain had just been through its civil war, which ended on 1 April 1939 —a war that involved several countries that subsequently participated in World War II.
Swiss neutrality is one of the main principles of Switzerland's foreign policy which dictates that Switzerland is not to be involved in armed conflicts between other states. This policy is self-imposed and designed to ensure external security and promote peace.
NATO is a military alliance of thirty-two European and North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows for the invitation of "other European States" only and by subsequent agreements. Countries wishing to join must meet certain requirements and complete a multi-step process involving political dialogue and military integration. The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body. NATO was formed in 1949 with twelve founding members and has added new members ten times. The first additions were Greece and Turkey in 1952. In May 1955, West Germany joined NATO, which was one of the conditions agreed to as part of the end of the country's occupation by France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, prompting the Soviet Union to form its own collective security alliance later that month. Following the end of the Franco regime, newly democratic Spain chose to join NATO in 1982.
The First League of Armed Neutrality was an alliance of European naval powers between 1780 and 1783 which was intended to protect neutral shipping against the British Royal Navy's wartime policy of unlimited search of neutral shipping for French contraband during the American Revolutionary War and Anglo-French War. According to one estimate, 1 in 5 merchant vessels were searched by the Royal Navy under this policy. By September 1778, at least 59 ships had been taken prize – 8 Danish, 16 Swedish and 35 Dutch, as well as others from Prussia. Protests were enormous by every side involved.
The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is the part of the European Union's (EU) security and defence policy (CSDP) in which 26 of the 27 national armed forces pursue structural integration. Based on Article 42(6) and Protocol 10 of the Treaty on European Union, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, PESCO was initiated in 2017. The integration into PESCO is through projects which launched in 2018.
Ireland and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have had a formal relationship since 1999, when Ireland joined as a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and signed up to NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). To date, Ireland has not sought to become a member of NATO due to its traditional policy of military neutrality.
The European Union (EU) is an institution of its own kind consisting of member states being part of an alliance as well as military neutral member states while developing a Common Foreign and Security Policy for the union as a whole. The military neutral member states are Austria, Ireland and Malta. Previous military neutral states are Finland and Sweden.
Austria and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have a close relationship. Austria with Ireland, Cyprus and Malta are the only members of the European Union that are not members of NATO. Austria has had formal relations with NATO since 1995, when it joined the Partnership for Peace programme.
Switzerland is a neutral European country, which is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Since 1996, Switzerland has participated in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. Switzerland is surrounded by the European Union but not an EU member itself, thereby also maintaining its neutrality with regard to EU membership and the EU mutual defence clause enshrined in Article 42.7 of the consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union, although the EU treaty also provides for neutral countries to maintain their neutrality.
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