Country neutrality (international relations)

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World map showing countries' degrees of neutrality prior of 2007:
neutral countries
countries claiming to be neutral
countries neutral in the past
A neutral country in a particular war is a sovereign state which officially decl
ares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does
not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in
Sections 5[1] and 13[2] of the Hague Convention of 1907. A permanently neutral
power is a sovereign state which is bound by international treaty to be neutral
towards the belligerents of all future wars. An example of a permanently neutral
power is Switzerland. The concept of neutrality in war is narrowly defined and
puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally
recognised right to remain neutral.
Neutralism or a "neutralist policy" is a foreign policy position wherein a state
intends to remain neutral in future wars. A sovereign state that reserves the r
ight to become a belligerent if attacked by a party to the war is in a condition
of armed neutrality.
Contents [hide]
1
Rights and responsibilities of a neutral power
2
List of neutral states
2.1
Recognised as neutral
2.2
Claim to be neutral
2.3
Formerly neutral
3
Points of debate
3.1
European Union
4
Neutrality to forestall invasion
5
See also
6
Notes
7
External links
Rights and responsibilities of a neutral power[edit]
Belligerents may not invade neutral territory,[3] and a neutral power's resistin
g any such attempt does not compromise its neutrality.[4]
A neutral power must intern belligerent troops who reach its territory,[5] but n
ot escaped prisoners of war.[6] Belligerent armies may not recruit neutral citiz
ens,[7] but they may go abroad to enlist.[8] Belligerent armies' personnel and m
aterial may not be transported across neutral territory,[9] but the wounded may
be.[10] A neutral power may supply communication facilities to belligerents,[11]
but not war material,[12] although it need not prevent export of such material.
[13]
Belligerent naval vessels may use neutral ports for a maximum of 24 hours, thoug
h neutrals may impose different restrictions.[14] Exceptions are to make repairso
nly the minimum necessary to put back to sea[15]or if an opposing belligerent's v
essel is already in port, in which case it must have a 24-hour head start.[16] A
prize ship captured by a belligerent in the territorial waters of a neutral pow
er must be surrendered by the belligerent to the neutral, which must intern its
crew.[17]
List of neutral states[edit]
Note: Whether a state that is a member of the European Union may be considered n
eutral is a point of debate. This is discussed in the section below.

Recognised as neutral[edit]
country neutrality period/beginning year
notes
Austria
19201938 (after World War I to annexation by Germany)
19551995 (Declaration of Neutrality to EU membership) Is a member of the Europ
ean Union.
Maintains external independence and inviolability of borders (expressly modeled
on the Swiss neutrality).
Costa Rica
1949-present
Is an observer in the Non-Aligned Movement.
Neutral since its military was dissolved in 1949.[18][19]
Finland
19351939 (to Winter War)
19561995 (from return of Porkkala rental area to EU membership)
Is a member of t
he European Union.
Liechtenstein 1868-present
Neutral since its army was dissolved in 1868.[20
][21]
Malta 19802004 (to EU membership)
Is a member of the European Union. Forme
r member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Policy of neutrality since 1980, guaranteed in a treaty with Italy concluded in
1983.
Panama 1989-present
Is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement. The neutrality
of the Panama Canal is enshrined by the Panama Canal Treaty.[22]
San Marino
1862-present
Security guaranteed in treaty with Italy in 1862
and renewed again in 1931.[citation needed]
Sweden 18141918 (to Finnish Civil War)
19181995 (to EU membership)
Is a member of the European Union.
Switzerland 1815-present
Self-imposed, permanent, and armed, designed to
ensure external security. Switzerland is the oldest neutral country in the world
; it has not fought a foreign war since its neutrality was established by the Tr
eaty of Paris in 1815. Although the European powers (Austria, France, the United
Kingdom, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Sweden) agreed at the Congress of
Vienna in May 1815 that Switzerland should be neutral, final ratification was d
elayed until after Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated so that some coalition forces
could invade France via Swiss territory (see the minor campaigns of 1815 and th
e Act on the Neutrality of Switzerland signed on 20 November 1815 by the Great P
owers).
Turkmenistan 1995-present
Is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Declared its permanent neutrality and had it formally recognised by the United N
ations in 1995.[23]
Vatican City 1929-present
The Lateran Treaty signed in 1929 with Italy imp
osed that "The Pope was pledged to perpetual neutrality in international relatio
ns and to abstention from mediation in a controversy unless specifically request
ed by all parties" thus making Vatican City neutral since then.
Claim to be neutral[edit]
country claimed neutrality period/beginning year
notes
Ghana 2012
Is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
In August 2012, the Government of Ghana announced the introduction of a closed p
olicy of neutrality.
Mexico 1930
Is an observer in the Non-Aligned Movement.
With the exception of its participation on the side of the Allies in World War I
I. Opened its borders in the 20th century to political refugees fleeing the mili
tary dictatorships of South America and Spain. Since 2000, Mexico ignored the ne
utrality policy under foreign secretaries Jorge G. Castaeda and Luis Ernesto Derb
ez. Whether historical neutrality is to be kept is now internally debated. The M
exican formulation of neutrality is known as Estrada doctrine.[24]
Moldova
1994
Article 11 of the 1994 Constitution proclaims "permanent
neutrality".
Philippines
Philippines
1993
A member of non-aligned movement .
Serbia 2007
Is an observer in the Non-Aligned Movement.
The National Assembly of Serbia declared armed neutrality in 2007.[25]
The country's neutrality may possibly change in the future if the country decide

s to join NATO or the CSTO, as its prime minister Aleksandar Vui does not rule out
the possibility of his country joining in the (non-near) future.[26]
Formerly neutral[edit]
country neutrality period
notes
Belgium
18391914 (to World War I)
19361940 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 1949. Is a member of the Eur
opean Union.
Neutral stance since 1839, abolished through the Treaty of Versailles after WWI
(and again after WWII), proclaimed neutrality in October 1936 and severed 1921 a
lliance with France.
Cambodia
19551970 (to Vietnam War)
Is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Denmark
18641940 (after Second Schleswig War to World War II) A NATO m
ember since 1949. Is a member of the European Union.
Estonia
19381939 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 2004. Is a m
ember of the European Union.
Declared its neutrality 1938, but was thereafter forced to allow troops of the S
oviet Union to enter in 1939 and was occupied by it 1940 in accordance with the
MolotovRibbentrop Pact.
Hungary
1956 (attempted neutrality during the Hungarian Revolution)
A NATO member since 1999. Is a member of the European Union.
Ireland
19391945 (neutral during World War II) Is a member of the Europ
ean Union.
Exercised a policy of neutrality during World War II, known as the Emergency in
Ireland. Has since displayed a policy of non-belligerency while calling it neutr
ality. Was granted a special acknowledgement in the Seville Declarations on the
Treaty of Nice due to its views on the use of force in International Politics. I
s not a signatory to the Hague Convention of 1907 parts V and XIII on neutrality
.
Laos 1962 (ostensibly neutral throughout the Vietnam War)
Is a member of t
he Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos was signed in Geneva on Ju
ly 23, 1962, by 14 nations, including the five permanent members of the United N
ations Security Council. However throughout the Laotian Civil War, Laos was figh
ting the PAVN and Pathet Lao with the help of the USA among other anti-communist
countries. Laos's neutrality can therefore be described as a "false neutrality"
.
Latvia 19381939 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 2004. Is a member of
the European Union.
Declared its neutrality 1938, but was thereafter forced to allow troops of the S
oviet Union to enter in 1939 and was occupied by it 1940 in accordance with the
MolotovRibbentrop Pact.
Lithuania
1939 (to World War II) A NATO member since 2004. Is a member of
the European Union.
Declared its neutrality 1939, but was thereafter forced to allow troops of the S
oviet Union to enter in 1939 and was occupied by it 1940 in accordance with the
MolotovRibbentrop Pact.
Luxembourg
18391914 (to World War I)
19201940 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 1949. Is a member of the Eur
opean Union.
Neutral stance since 1839, abolished through its constitution in 1948.
Netherlands
18391940 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 1949. Is a m
ember of the European Union.
Self-imposed neutrality between 1839 and 1940 on the European continent.
Norway 19051940 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 1949.
Portugal
19321945 (neutral during World War II) A NATO member since 1949
. Is a member of the European Union.
Spain 19141918 (neutral during World War I)

19401945 (neutral during World War II) A NATO member since 1982. Is a member of
the European Union.
Turkey 19401945 (neutral during World War II) A NATO member since 1952.
United States 19141917 (to World War I)
19391941 (to World War II)
A NATO member since 1949.
Pursuant to the non-interventionist policy set forth by George Washington, the U
.S. declared its neutrality at the beginning of both world wars. However, it dec
lared war on Germany during World War I in 1917 following the series of German U
-Boat attacks on American merchant ships supplying war material to the Allies in
the Atlantic Ocean and declared war on Japan in World War II in 1941 following
the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ukraine
19902014
Is a former observer in the Non-Aligned Movement.
Ukraine's parliament voted to drop non-aligned status on December 23, 2014.[27]
In its Declaration of Sovereignty (1990), Ukraine declared it had the "intention
of becoming a permanently neutral state that does not participate in military b
locs and adheres to three nuclear free principles" (art. 9). Neutrality was then
enshrined in the 1996 Ukrainian Constitution, based upon the Declaration of Ind
ependence of August 24, 1991, containing the basic principles of non-coalition a
nd future neutrality.[28] Such policy of state non-alignment was re-confirmed by
law in 2010.[29]
Points of debate[edit]
European Union[edit]
The neutrality of some countries now in the European Union (Austria, Finland, Ir
eland, Malta and Sweden) is under dispute, especially as the EU now operates a C
ommon Foreign and Security Policy. This view was supported by the Finnish Prime
Minister, Matti Vanhanen, on 5 July 2006, while speaking to the European Parliam
ent as Council President;
"Mr Pflger described Finland as neutral. I must correct him on that: Finland is a
member of the EU. We were at one time a politically neutral country, during the
time of the Iron Curtain. Now we are a member of the Union, part of this commun
ity of values, which has a common policy and, moreover, a common foreign policy.
"[30]
Later, the 'solidarity clause' in the Lisbon Treaty was deemed sufficient to rep
lace the Western European Union (WEU) military alliance's mutual defence clause
(where an attack upon one state is deemed an attack on all, resulting in militar
y support from other members). As a result, the WEU was closed down with its mut
ual defence role having been absorbed by the European Union.[31]
Irish neutrality is similarly debated; the state's "traditional policy of milita
ry neutrality" is not defined in law, and referendums on the Treaty of Nice and
on the Treaty of Lisbon were lost in part because of fears these would undermine
Irish neutrality.[citation needed]
Austrian neutrality is special, as for many Austrian citizens neutrality is a ma
in element of the Austrian state. So while in fact neutrality currently only exi
sts on paper, politicians do not dare to withdraw from the European Union to rei
ntroduce a de facto neutrality, though there are several political parties whose
aim is to withdraw.
Neutrality to forestall invasion[edit]
Other countries may be more active on the international stage, while emphasising
an intention to remain neutral in case of war close to the country.[32] By such
a declaration of intentions, the country hopes that all belligerents will count
on the country's territory as off limits for the enemy, and hence unnecessary t
o waste resources on. The neutrality of Republic of Moldova is an interesting ca
se. According to Ion Marandici, Moldova has chosen neutrality in order to avoid
Russian security schemes and Russian military presence on its territory.[33] Eve
n if the country is constitutionally neutral, some researchers argue that de fac

to this former Soviet republic never was neutral, because parts of the Russian 1
4th army are present at Bendery.[33] The same author suggests that one solution
in order to avoid unnecessary contradictions and deepen at the same time the rel
ations with NATO would be "to interpret the concept of permanent neutrality in a
flexible manner".[33]
Many countries made such declarations during World War II. Most, however, became
occupied, and in the end only the states of Andorra, Ireland, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland (with Liechtenstein), and Vatican (the Holy See) remained ne
utral of the European countries closest to the war. Their fulfilment to the lett
er of the rules of neutrality have been questioned: Ireland supplied some import
ant secret information to the Allies; for instance, the date of D-Day was decide
d on the basis of incoming Atlantic weather information secretly supplied to the
m by Ireland but kept from Germany. Also, German pilots who crash landed in Irel
and were interned, whereas their Allied counterparts usually went "missing" clos
e to the border.[citation needed] Sweden and Switzerland, as embedded within Naz
i Germany and its occupied territory, similarly made some concessions to Nazi re
quests as well as to Allied requests.[citation needed] Sweden was also involved
in intelligence operations with the Allies, including listening stations in Swed
en and espionage in Germany, as well as secret military training of Norwegian an
d Danish soldiers in Sweden.[citation needed] Spain also pursued a policy of "no
n-alignment" and sent a volunteer combat division to aid the Nazi war effort.[ci
tation needed] Portugal officially stayed neutral, but actively supported both t
he Allies by providing overseas naval bases and Germany by keeping its war machi
ne alight with the extensive sale of tungsten .
According to Edwin Reischauer, "To be neutral you must be ready to be highly mil
itarized, like Switzerland or Sweden."[34] However, other countrieslike Costa Ric
ahave claimed that having no army would strengthen their neutrality and democrati
c stability.[35]
See also[edit]
Non-belligerent
Non-Aligned Movement
Neutral powers during World War II
Irish neutrality
Swedish neutrality
Swiss neutrality
International humanitarian law
Portugal in World War II
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Second Hague Convention, Section 5
Jump up ^ Second Hague Convention, Section 13
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.1
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.10
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.11
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.13
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.4,5
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.6
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.2
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.14
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 5 Art.8
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.6
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.7
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.12
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.14
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.16
Jump up ^ Hague Convention, 13 Art.3
Jump up ^ "Costa Rica". World Desk Reference. Archived from the original on Febr
uary 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-27.

Jump up ^ El Espritu del 48. "Abolicin del Ejrcito". Retrieved 2008-03-09. (Spanish
)
Jump up ^ "Background Note: Liechtenstein". United States Department of State. R
etrieved 2008-02-27.
Jump up ^ "Imagebroschuere_LP_e.indd" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-19.
Jump up ^ TREATY CONCERNING THE PERMANENT NEUTRALITY AND OPERATION OF THE PANAMA
CANAL
Jump up ^ "A/RES/50/80; U.N. General Assembly". Retrieved 29 December 2009.
Jump up ^ La Jornada (27 April 2007). "Adis a la neutralidad - La Jornada". Jorna
da.unam.mx. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
Jump up ^ Enclosed by NATO, Serbia ponders next move AFP, 6 April 2009
Jump up ^ http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/serbien/serbien-muss-so-schnell-wie
-moeglich-in-die-eu-36365568.bild.html
Jump up ^ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30587924
Jump up ^ "Ukraine's Neutrality: A Myth or Reality?". Retrieved 8 September 2014
.
Jump up ^ "Ukraine Parliament Ok's neutrality bill". Kyiv Post (Kiev, Ukraine).
AP. 4 June 2010.
Jump up ^ Presentation of the programme of the Finnish presidency (debate) 5 Jul
y 2006, European Parliament Strasbourg
Jump up ^ Statement of the Presidency of the Permanent Council of the WEU on beh
alf of the High Contracting Parties to the Modified Brussels Treaty Belgium, Fra
nce, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and th
e United Kingdom, Western European Union 31 March 2010
Jump up ^ http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/how-blacksod-lighthouse-changed-t
he-course-of-the-second-world-war-30319681.html
^ Jump up to: a b c Marandici, Ion (2006). "Moldova's neutrality: what is at sta
ke?" (MS Word). Lviv: IDIS-Viitorul and the Center for European Studies.
Jump up ^ Chapin, Emerson. "Edwin Reischauer, Diplomat and Scholar, Dies at 79,"
New York Times. September 2, 1990.
Jump up ^ Military of Costa Rica Military of Costa Rica
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Neutrality.
Declaration for the Purpose of establishing Similar Rules of Neutrality, with An
nexes
The British Government's note affirming its neutrlality in the French-Prussian W
ar of 1871, and answering Prussian allegations of a hidden pro-French bias
Authority control
NDL: 00573922
Categories: Laws of warInternational relations theoryNon-interventionism
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