Neutrality

Historical Origin

Taken literally, neutrality means neither-nor (from the Latin ne-uter). Its origin as a foreign and security policy orientation dates back to a time when European nation states were commonly fighting each other. The concept of state sovereignty emerged in the same period. The right to wage war was constitutive of that international order. Neutrality correlated to this right: it offered the possibility of abstaining from war in an environment in which not taking sides would otherwise be viewed as opportunism or even cowardice.

Neutrality was mainly a survival strategy for especially small states, which were in permanent danger of being overrun by larger ones. Smaller states were not usually primary targets, but conquering them was a way of preventing them from either falling to one side or freely siding with the other. Thus, neutrality's original purpose was to help states defend their interests in an international environment marked by interstate conflicts. Besides this realistic perspective, neutrality has also represented a traditionally idealistic approach to international relations; a neutral state's claim to abstain from war was also a commitment not to add violence to existing conflicts. Even though it was originally conceived of as a survival strategy, neutrality inspired ways of thinking linked to a nonviolent approach to international conflicts. One example was the concept of neo-neutrality put forth by Georg Cohn in the period between World Wars I and II. It advocated active and collective disqualification of war parties by all neutral states, including the use of sanctions. Neutrals would stay outside the war, and it was stipulated that their sanctions should not be of a military nature.

This idealistic connotation of neutrality was reinforced through the tendency of neutral states to compensate for their military absenteeism by strengthening their political engagement to diminish the suffering caused by war. This engagement could take the form of humanitarian actions or attempts to end military conflicts. It was usually not pursued out of idealism or as a peace strategy but out of a perceived need to show solidarity with the war parties and the difficulties and costs they incurred.

Neutrality Law

The legal rights and obligations of neutrality are rooted in the Hague Conventions of 1907 and in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 on international humanitarian law. Neutral states are required not to participate in war either directly or indirectly. They should not support war parties with military means nor should they make their territory available to such parties, supply them with weapons or funds, or restrict private weapon exports in a one-sided way. Neutrals are also required to defend themselves autonomously against violations of their neutrality. Neutrality excludes the right to belong to a military alliance since such a membership would entail the exact opposite of neutrality: While neutrality raises the expectation that a state will not participate in a future military conflict, participation in a military alliance includes the obligation that a state will support its fellow members in a potential military conflict. Thus, according to international law, neutrality is a clearly and narrowly defined status. If a state adopts an extensive neutrality policy, this occurs out of political considerations and not out of legal obligations.

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