Switzerland and NATO: From Non-Relationsship to Cautious Partnership

Abstract

In this chapter, Christian Nünlist analyzes how Switzerland’s relationship with NATO changed significantly since 1949. During the Cold War, Switzerland officially pursued a policy of armed neutrality and strict distance to the Western military alliance. In practice, however, we now know that there were sporadic, secret informal contacts with NATO in the early 1950s, in particular with British Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery. In the 1990s, Switzerland introduced a new strategy of “security through cooperation” and joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) initiative. Since 1999, it is participating with a Swiss military contingent (Swisscoy) in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR). In the 21st century, Switzerland’s cautious partnership with the Western alliance has become an accepted normality, even if full NATO membership remains a political taboo.