Russia’s war against Ukraine has not swayed the historically neutral Switzerland from joining NATO, but some Swiss officials are contemplating a closer relationship with the alliance.

Swiss citizens are required to serve in the military in some capacity — but they never see action, thanks to its neutrality.

Switzerland sits landlocked in the heart of Europe, yet has refused to become a member of NATO or the European Union. (In fact, the country just joined the United Nations in 2002.)

Due to the country’s constitutional policy of military neutrality, Switzerland has neither participated in military exercises with neighboring NATO countries nor provided military supplies or troops to warring nations.

In 1996, however, Switzerland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) — for non-members of NATO — after the end of the Cold War. As a result, the historically neutral country supplied helicopters and provided training for NATO-led peacekeeping missions in Kosovo. Switzerland also shares air traffic data with NATO countries to prevent terrorist attacks and participates in the NATO cyber defense center in Estonia to combat cyber-attacks. But that is the extent of Switzerland’s involvement to date, even though the country has been the target of Russian cyberattacks and is in range of Russian missiles.

As the Russian-Ukrainian war surged this spring, Switzerland made another step away from neutrality by enacting tough sanctions on Russia – a move some experts say could open the door for a stronger NATO alliance.

The Russian-Ukrainian war has forced Switzerland to rethink its relationship with NATO should war come to the country’s borders.

Switzerland’s history of neutrality

Switzerland adopted its neutral position at the Congress of Vienna, which ended the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Since then, Switzerland has not fought in any international armed conflicts. Moreover, the Hague Convention of 1907 prohibits Switzerland from aiding warring parties with weapons or troops or allowing access to its territory by warring countries.

In the 1990s, the Swiss constitution was last updated after the fall of the Soviet Union to allow for disaster relief and humanitarian aid based on cooperation with other countries. Because of Switzerland’s historical neutrality has remained a unique intermediary location where other countries can conduct diplomatic meetings, including the United States’ impasse with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. (Read more on Switzerland’s complicated neutrality here.)

The importance of NATO membership

Russia’s brutal war of aggression in Ukraine has forced the Swiss defense ministry to consider greater cooperation with Western military powers and responsibility for Europe’s military architecture and security.

The Russian invasion has highlighted the importance of a NATO membership, especially for countries bordering Russia. For instance, if Ukraine were a member of NATO, the alliance would be obligated to provide military assistance and support, which could have deterred Russian forces from initially attacking Ukraine in the first place.

The war has also shifted strategic alignments in Europe. Historically militarily neutral, two Nordic EU countries, Sweden and Finland, have applied for NATO membership. Both nations felt compelled to join the Western alliance of mutual security guarantees, especially given their geographic proximity to Russia. Since 2014, Sweden and Finland have been NATO allies, permitting NATO forces on their soil to conduct training exercises. Furthermore, Sweden has supplied Ukraine with weapons.

Swiss Confederation President Ignazio Cassis in March announcing that Switzerland will not remain neutral; and, will enact tough sanctions on Russia.

Steps Needed to Join NATO

The NATO membership procedure is a multi-step process that usually takes between 8 to 12 months to complete. In addition, the ratification of the accession by NATO’s 30 member countries is a time-consuming process. Still, with the possibility of impending war on the steps NATO territory, the process will be expedited for Finland and Sweden.

What steps does a country take to join NATO? First, a request in a letter from a government is submitted. NATO member states then assess the request based on whether the candidate countries align well with NATO’s military, political, and legal principles.

If the candidate is given a thumbs up, accession discussions commence, and details of joint commitments and responsibilities are shared. (For further details on the accession process, click here.)

Switzerland’s identity is centered on its neutrality, not its collage of cultures, languages and religions, one expert says.

Swiss opinions on NATO membership

Switzerland will likely not forge ahead as far as Sweden and Finland due to its position of neutrality. Pursuing a closer relationship with NATO could be sensitive and challenging, but Switzerland needs to redefine its defense strategy.

Because Switzerland is a small country surrounded by NATO countries, it has assumed in the past that its NATO neighbors would automatically protect it, according to Damien Cottier, a member of the Swiss parliament. But, Cottier said in Le Temps, “This is a dangerous pipe dream. Our country cannot be a free rider when it comes to European security.”

In the past, the Swiss only considered the security of its own borders. Today, many Swiss see it in a broader European context as the effects of the conflict in Ukraine could expand geographically into other territories.

Will the Russo-Ukraine war drive Switzerland to reconsider its long-standing position to remain independent? And what would come of Switzerland’s neutrality should it join NATO? A NATO membership is still unpopular among the Swiss, with only 33 percent in favor. However, public support for greater collaboration with NATO has grown in direct response to the Russian-Ukraine war dragging on with no ceasefire on the horizon. Some want cooperation to move as close as the country’s constitution will allow.

The far-right nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — has stated that any deviation from the position of neutrality will jeopardize national sovereignty. But Switzerland already compromised its position when it joined other Western countries by imposing sanctions on Russia.

Swiss politicians from the center-left and center-right supported the sanctions because Russia had violated international law. However, some also said Switzerland could and should do much more with NATO than it currently does.

But despite the shock the Ukraine war has inflicted on Switzerland, joining NATO is not an option, according to Swiss defense minister Viola Amherd. If Switzerland were to join NATO “we would be in a military alliance and would have to give up our neutrality as a sovereign and neutral country,” Amherd in Swissinfo. Additionally, Switzerland would have to invest 2% of its annual GDP in defense, a requirement of all NATO members. Presently. Switzerland’s military investment is less than 1% of its annual GDP.

Unlike France and Germany, whose national language and religion have molded its citizens’ national identity, Switzerland has multiple religions, four national languages, and a decentralized governance structure. In addition, the Swiss national identity is influenced by direct democracy, federalism, and neutrality.

“Swiss identity is a political identity. Joining an international organization would destroy this,” said Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global risks at the Geneva Center for Security Policy.

Switzerland increases cooperation with NATO

A poll conducted in April showed that 56% of Swiss citizens favor a closer alliance with NATO and want to cooperate in various ways with the military alliance, similarly to how Sweden and Finland have contributed in recent years.

To this point, Amherd recently ordered F-35A Lightning II fighter jets from the US firm Lockheed-Martin and plans to beef up the annual Swiss defense budget from CHF 5 billion to CHF 7 billion. The additional funds would re-arm ground troops, conduct joint military training exercises with NATO countries, and create a cyber command center to better prepare for cyberattacks. By 2026, Switzerland’s cyber defense center aims to have a staff of 575 members, which is more than double its current headcount.

Other means of further cooperation include:

• High-level meetings between Swiss and NATO leaders;
• The defense ministry’s contribution to a broader study on the export of weapons;
• The adoption of sanctions; and
• A framework of the relationship with NATO from a neutrality standpoint.

The notion of whether or not Switzerland will cooperate with NATO tangibly and operationally will be decided in a pending referendum, which, if approved, could take up to two years. But the fact that this discussion of moving closer to the alliance is even taking place between Swiss diplomats, politicians, and armed forces is groundbreaking by Swiss principles.

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