EXPLAINED: Why isn’t Switzerland in NATO?

NATO, an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, was created in 1949 as a response to the militarisation and expansion of the Soviet Union.

Two years earlier, a period known as the Cold War began — a state of conflict between western countries and the Soviet bloc that lasted for more than four decades.

NATO was formed in that geopolitical context to provide collective security against the rising threat posed by the Soviet Union.

Switzerland’s reason for not joining the military alliance at that time or since then was that such a move would be incompatible with the country’s longstanding tradition of neutrality — the same tradition that had kept Switzerland from joining the United Nations until 2002, and is still keeping it from joining the European Union.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Why is Switzerland always neutral?

Specifically, what has kept Switzerland from becoming a member is the Article 5 of the NATO treaty — the principal of collective defence, implying that an attack on one member is viewed as an attack on all.

Switzerland’s principle of “armed neutrality” means the country can defend itself against an invasion, but it can’t engage militarily to defend other nations in an armed conflict.

Why didn’t neutrality stop Switzerland from imposing sanctions on Russia?

Some say Swiss authorities were cornered by the European Union to follow the same sanctions, which makes sense as Switzerland has many ties with — and obligations toward — the EU without actually being a member.

Also, sanctions are of economic nature rather than military one, which means the country is not directly involved in an armed conflict.

While right-wing groups like the Swiss People’s Party argue that by toeing EU’s line Switzerland compromised its neutral status, others deny it.

Swiss historian and former diplomat Paul Widmer told  Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes “the policy of neutrality means that Switzerland does not take sides in a conflict.” 

However, the decision to impose sanctions was in fact an exercise of neutrality, rather than a departure from the principle, he pointed out.

“If there are blatant violations of international law and all other Western countries take sanctions, but we don’t take sides, also indirectly.”

Of course, the same logic wouldn’t apply to joining a military organisation like NATO.

READ MORE: Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?

Not a member, but…

While not a part of NATO per se, Switzerland has nevertheless close ties with the organisation through NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, which allows it to build an “individual relationship” with NATO.

What exactly does this mean?

According to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, “The PfP provides Switzerland with an institutional framework for dialogue on security policy issues with other countries. This is important given that Switzerland is one of the few countries between the Atlantic and Ukraine that belongs neither to the European Union. which has its own common security and defence policy, nor to NATO."

And while being part of PfP is not going to plunge Switzerland into an armed conflict, “it helps prepare Switzerland’s armed forces for their participation in peace-keeping missions abroad under the command of NATO, the EU or the United Nations”