Neutrals/Neutrality

Wyss, Marco (2025) Neutrals/Neutrality. In: Routledge Resources Online - The Cold War :. Routledge.

Abstract

Although neutrality and neutrals had existed before in Europe, the postwar international order brought the neutrals under pressure, and the emerging zero-sum game between the two superpowers seemed to remove the room for neutrality. Paradoxically, however, the East–West conflict also relieved some of the strain on the traditional neutrals (Sweden and Switzerland), allowed them to re-position themselves, and provided the space and impetus for the emergence of additional neutrals (Austria and Finland). The United States and the Soviet Union came to accept or even champion neutrality if they believed that it would benefit their position and bloc. But the neutrals had to tread carefully, because with the law of neutrality only applying in wartime, they had to rely on neutral politics to uphold their credibility not to take sides in any future war. In addition, they tried to make themselves useful and show the benefits of neutrality to the Cold War contestants by offering good offices and neutral venues to meet. The resulting neutral politics varied, however, from one neutral to another, depending on their respective neutrality heritage and geostrategic location, as well as, of course, superpower pressures.