Policy brief: Features of the Switzerland foreign policy in the XXI century (ID:1047722)

1. Historical Background of Switzerland's Foreign Policy Switzerland is doing its utmost to make its foreign policy consistent with the national interests of the state. Globalization, revolutionary achievements in science and technology, environmental protection and growing migration contribute to the gradual engagement of Switzerland in the processes of cooperation with other countries. The attitude of Swiss people towards foreign countries is very contradictory: while the country's economy is more oriented towards the international market, skepticism about political alliances is still preserved in political life. 1.1. Neutrality and Isolation A slogan “Don't interfere in other people's affairs” proclaimed by Saint Niklaus von der Flühe, has been dominated in Switzerland's foreign policy for 500 years. In 1515, Switzerland declared neutrality. In 1647, under the influence of the Thirty Years' War, it was decided to establish the Confederation’s Armed Forces to protect neutrality, which was associated with the beginning of Switzerland's armed neutrality. In 1648, Johann Rudolf Wettstein achieved the international recognition of independence of Switzerland in the Peace of Westphalia, Westphalian Münster [5, p. 10]. Switzerland's neutrality was recognized by other European states at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.