Swiss neutrality

Switzerland's permanent neutrality, rooted in the Congress of Vienna 1815 and enshrined in Article 185 of the Swiss Federal Constitution, defines its non-membership of NATO and its role as host to UN agencies (UNHCR, WTO, ICRC) and multilateral peace talks. Recent debates centre on whether imposing sanctions against Russia and hosting Ukraine peace summits erode that neutrality. This case illustrates the legal and political dimensions of state neutrality, good-offices diplomacy, and the limits of non-alignment in a polarised world — concepts relevant to understanding how small states manage great-power pressures.