This is an excerpt from Neutrality after 1989: New Paths in the Post-Cold War Worldedited by Naman Karl-Thomas Habtom. You can download the book for free from E-International Relations.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the United States as the world’s sole superpower, neutrality was seen by many as a relic of the Cold War. However, the arrival of emerging powers on the international stage and the gradual shift towards multipolarity, as countries such as Russia and China asserted their influence and challenged the US-dominated international order, have in turn revived neutrality in its various forms. This book begins with a series of chapters examining the “old neutrals” of Europe through contemporary Austrian and Swiss neutrality, the decline and end of Swedish and Finnish neutrality, and the resilience of Irish neutrality. Subsequent chapters address the emergence of “new neutrals” through examinations of Vietnamese “bamboo diplomacy,” Israel’s efforts to balance its relations with Washington and Moscow, and Oman’s non-interventionist foreign policy. As the various chapters show, the role of neutrality – and its perception or misperceptions – remains central to understanding contemporary geopolitics and international relations.
In the popular imagination, neutrality is understood as a policy of refraining from participating in wars and/or preferring not to choose one bloc over another. This perception, particularly in Western countries, is largely influenced by the experiences of the Second World War (1939–1945) and the subsequent Cold War (1947–1991), particularly as they manifested themselves in Europe. In reality, neutrality is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. It takes on “active” or “passive” forms, permanent or non-permanent, as well as various forms that are not technically neutrality but are often associated with it, such as military non-alignment.
The end of the Cold War and the emergence of the prospect of American unipolarity led countries around the world to reconsider the meaning and necessity of neutrality. For some, this meant a diminishing importance and gradual abandonment of the idea, since neutrality had previously been underpinned by a bipolar world that no longer existed. Following the outbreak of the full-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, non-aligned (but still often incorrectly labeled “neutral”) countries Sweden and Finland applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—and subsequently finalized their membership—signaling a further decline in the role of neutrality in the 21st century.
But the story of neutrality is not limited to Europe. This is especially true in the post-Cold War era. If the 1990s and 2000s were marked by US (and Western) hegemony, the 2010s and 2020s have been marked by increasing multipolarity. As the number of emerging powers has increased, so has the desire to protect oneself and to refrain from fully aligning with a single great power. As a result, while Western observers often remark on the futility and/or death of neutrality, the situation elsewhere is very different. This book hopes to illuminate this ongoing evolution. It seeks to show that the rise and fall of neutrality are occurring simultaneously for a multitude of different reasons. In discussing neutrality, this book adopts a broad definition to reflect the wide range of experiences the countries covered have had and their unique approaches to international affairs.
In the first chapter, Pascal Lottaz examines Switzerland and Austria as archetypes of neutrality. Although perceived from the outside as similar neutral Alpine states, Lottaz demonstrates that these similarities are in fact superficial. The differences lie both in their histories and in the underlying philosophies that guide their policies, which continue to influence how both countries understand their own neutrality. In the second chapter, Erik Noreen and Roxanna Sjöstedt focus on Sweden. For decades, the country was considered the quintessential neutral state, always engaged in global issues. Even after formally abandoning neutrality by joining the European Union (EU), the Nordic country pursued a policy of non-alignment. Despite this, as Noreen and Sjöstedt show, Sweden remained a militarily active country, deploying around the world with NATO. The chapter explains how Sweden moved closer to NATO while remaining officially non-aligned.
In the third chapter, Jussi Pakkasvirta and Hanna Tuominen focus on another neutral Nordic country, Finland. After the end of the Cold War, the Finnish conception of neutrality underwent a major transformation, leading first to Finland’s membership in the EU, then to military missions to NATO, and finally to NATO membership. Their chapter traces and analyses this evolution over three decades. The fourth chapter of the book, written by Karen Devine, focuses on Ireland, which has resisted the European trend of military de-neutralization in the post-Cold War period. Instead, the country has demonstrated remarkable resilience and commitment to neutrality despite significant and increasing pressure from Irish and foreign political elites.
In the second half of the book, in chapters five, six, and seven, we leave Europe to explore the different ways in which neutrality is used globally. In his chapter on Vietnam, Nguyen Khac Giang explains how the Southeast Asian nation conducts its “bamboo diplomacy” by seeking to balance its relations with the United States and China while pursuing an independent foreign policy. Israel is the focus of Liudmila Samarskaia’s chapter. Although widely considered an ally of the United States, the Israeli government has at times gone its own way. This has been particularly true in recent years, as it seeks to balance its relations with Washington, Moscow, and Beijing in pursuit of its own national security interests—thus pursuing a policy of selective neutrality. Another country associated with neutrality, sometimes called “the Switzerland of the Middle East,” is Oman. In the final chapter of the book, Roby Barrett and Leah Sherwood argue that this perception is incorrect and that Muscat is in fact a partisan, non-interventionist country. This policy, the authors argue, is at odds with true neutral states and amounts to a Realpolitik approach that allowed the country to play the role of mediator while advancing its own interests.
The countries studied in this volume were selected because of their diverse interpretations of neutrality. They illustrate that neutrality, as interpreted internally or externally, is never a simple or straightforward policy, but rather a synthesis of national interests, historical and contemporary circumstances, and domestic and foreign policy realities. Therefore, understanding what neutrality is and is not requires a broader view of global developments. By better understanding these nuances, readers—whether motivated by personal interest, academic research, or policymaking responsibilities—will understand that states that practice neutrality and its derivatives do not fit into simple categories, but are rather adapted and perceived in light of their own traditions and current challenges.
Focusing on the post-Cold War period, this volume seeks to reaffirm the ongoing relevance of neutrality as a conceptual framework in international relations and domestic politics. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the so-called “end of history” (Fukuyama 1989), neutrality was largely relegated to the history books or dismissed as an unconventional oddity or a vestige of the Cold War. However, this volume, along with the work of others, such as Lottaz et al. (2022), illustrates that neutrality—and the imperative to understand its dynamism—remains as important as ever. Neutrality is not simply a product of bipolarity, as the Cold War period might suggest, but can in fact emerge during periods of unipolarity or multipolarity. Moreover, because of their relatively uncommon character – though not as rare as one might imagine – the various manifestations of neutrality are often unique. This calls for research into the different forms it takes, or into the reasons why it is abandoned, to which this volume hopes to contribute.
Neutrality, as a concept and as a phenomenon, is still relevant today. It is essential to understand it, as the chapters in this book attempt to do, as multipolarity becomes a growing force in world affairs. In such a world, neutrality, in its various forms, is likely to continue to be a tool used by various states. Recognizing it as such helps us understand the world as it exists today and as it might exist tomorrow.
The references
Fukuyama, F. 1989. “The End of History?”. The national interest. 16, 3–18.
Lottaz, Pascal; Heinz, G; and Herbert, RR 2022. Neutrality Beyond the Cold: Neutral States and the Post-Cold War International System. Lanham: Lexington Books.
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