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Irish peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) at Beirut airport, 2022. <\/p>\n
Anwar Amro \/ AFP <\/p>\n
European rearmament has put similar pressure on old policies in Ireland and Switzerland \u2013 and sparked heated reactions from defenders of \u201ctraditional\u201d neutrality in both countries.\n<\/p>\n
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May 20, 2026 – 09:00\n<\/p>\n
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\n As part of the democracy team, I report on the dynamic relationship between citizens and their institutions in Switzerland and abroad.
\nBorn in Ireland, I have a BA in European Studies and MA in International Relations. I’ve been at SWI swissinfo.ch since 2017. <\/p>\n
\n My work focuses on multimedia content formats. I produce videos and photos for SWI swissinfo.ch’s various online channels and work as a picture editor. Look for similarities between Ireland and Switzerland and you\u2019ll see a pair of small and \u2013 at least nowadays \u2013 rich states. Tax policies involving big multinational firms may also pop up.<\/p>\n But as Europe confronts new security concerns, marked by Russian militarism and US-NATO strains, another commonality has become clearer. For years \u2013 almost a century for one, even longer for the other \u2013 Ireland and Switzerland have been neutral. In 2026 they are part of a shrinking club. How are they adapting, and how do they compare?<\/p>\n The impact of neighbours<\/p>\n Historically, at least, the two versions of neutrality share very different origins and motivations. \u201cNo country is neutral by coincidence,\u201d says Laurent Goetschel, director of the Basel-based Swisspeace institute. In the Swiss case, its armed neutrality was given the seal of approval from outside, when European powers recognised it at the 1815 Congress of Vienna.<\/p>\n Explore the past and present of Swiss neutrality in our article:<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Foreign Affairs\n <\/p>\n What does the future hold for Swiss neutrality? <\/p>\n Switzerland is grappling with a key question: should it follow a path of openness or isolationism? <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: What does the future hold for Swiss neutrality? Irish neutrality was less about fitting in among big neighbours and more about getting away from them. After hard-won independence from Britain, culminating in a 1937 constitutional republic, neutrality was above all a way for the new Irish nation to assert sovereignty on the world stage. It was also a way to avoid getting dragged into more conflict. Hundreds of thousands of Irish fought in the British army in the First World War, inspiring the pacifist slogan still used by some neutrality defenders today: \u201cWe serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland\u201d.<\/p>\n After the policy kept the country out of the Second World War, Ireland\u2019s sovereignty-based approach broadened as the world split into Cold War blocs. Already in the late 1950s, it started sending troops to serve on United Nations peacekeeping missions, laying the foundation for a conception of neutrality as a means of peace and development rather than of defence \u2013 a somewhat \u201cwoolly\u201d view still widespread in the country, says Kenneth McDonagh, an international relations professor at Dublin City University.<\/p>\n A century staying out of conflict \u2013 Irish neutrality in pictures:<\/p>\n Previous <\/p>\n Next <\/p>\n Irish revolutionary leader Eamon de Valera, who would become prime minister and president of an independent Ireland, is seen as a chief architect of the country\u2019s early neutrality policy. <\/p>\n Getty Images <\/p>\n On December 14, 1955, the flags of 16 new member states of the United Nations, including Ireland, were raised for the first time during a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York. <\/p>\n Keystone <\/p>\n Irish soldiers at Elisabethville Airport, in the Congo, during their 1961-1964 deployment to the UN\u2019s peace mission in the newly independent African country. <\/p>\n Keystone <\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s first female soldiers deployed on a UN mission are welcomed back home at Dublin Airport after a peacekeeping stint in Lebanon, April 26, 1983. <\/p>\n Getty Images <\/p>\n In 2008, Irish voters rejected the EU\u2019s new Lisbon Treaty in a public vote; concerns about the country\u2019s military neutrality were one of several factors behind their reluctance. Citizens approved the treaty in a second referendum in 2009. <\/p>\n Christian Lutz \/ Keystone <\/p>\n The L\u00c9 Samuel Beckett ship on the river Liffey in Dublin, during the 75th anniversary celebrations for the Irish navy, September 1, 2021. In 2026, a new maritime security strategy pledged to boost the country\u2019s under-resourced navy. <\/p>\n Brian Lawless \/ Getty Images <\/p>\n At the same time, inconsistencies arose. For decades, US military aircraft have used Shannon Airport as a refuelling stop on their way to conflicts further afield. This dented the reputation of Irish neutrality\u2019s even-handedness; more recently, it even prompted a (positive) nod to the Swiss stance. \u201cSwitzerland\u2019s decision to refuse military flights linked to the war with Iran demonstrates what neutrality means in practice,\u201d parliamentarian Donnchadh \u00d3 Laoghaire from the left-wing Sinn F\u00e9in said in MarchExternal link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ireland\u2019s membership of the European Union also led to frictions. Towards the turn of the century, as EU states deepened cooperation on foreign affairs, it faced issues which non-EU Switzerland is spared. For example: how can a neutral country fit into a union with a mutual defence clause? In 2009, wary Irish citizens were placated with an opt-out clause: they ratified the EU\u2019s Lisbon Treaty only after a guarantee that neutrality would not be affected (the clause is also applicable to other neutral EU members like Austria).<\/p>\n New realities, old policies?<\/p>\n Since Russia\u2019s 2022 attack on Ukraine, neutrality has not become easier, either for Dublin or Bern. Switzerland has faced charges of freeloading under the security umbrella of its neighbours, while Ireland has been warned by its EU partners not to become a \u201cweak link\u201d in the bloc\u2019s defence. And given that Switzerland and Ireland both apply sanctions on Russia, Moscow says neither is neutral.<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke in the Irish parliament on December 2, 2025; he addressed parliamentarians in Bern \u2013 by video-link \u2013 in June 2023. <\/p>\n Tony Maxwell \/ AFP <\/p>\n The reactions to this have varied. Switzerland has seen hefty debates about weapons exports and sanctions; citizens are also to vote on an initiative aiming to put a strict interpretation of neutrality in the constitution. But overall, even calls by Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis for a more \u201ccooperative\u201d approach to neutrality have not changed the fact that the Swiss model is still based on the Hague Convention\u2019s rules: no participation in armed conflict, no military favours for a warring side (political statements or economic sanctions are allowed, however).<\/p>\n More on the relationship between neutrality and arms exports:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Neutrality\n <\/p>\n Switzerland eases arms export rules as its industry is shunned by Europe <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Jan 29, 2026 <\/p>\n Switzerland will allow the sale of weapons to countries embroiled in conflict, in a move favourable to its defence industry. The country insists such exports are compatible with neutrality. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: Switzerland eases arms export rules as its industry is shunned by Europe In Ireland, the new situation has above all thrown into light the big difference between its model and Switzerland\u2019s \u2013 the word \u201carmed\u201d.<\/p>\n While one of the richest EU states, Ireland spends little on defence and is under no illusions it could ward off a conventional attack. And this is no longer just a thought experiment: Russian spy ships have been spotted in its vast territorial waters, home to nearly 75%External link<\/a> of the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s subsea telecoms cables. In February 2026 this even prompted the country\u2019s first ever maritime security strategy, pledging closer ties to NATO neighbours and two new bases for its under-resourced navy \u2013 for The Economist, a \u201cdeparture from its long-standing policy of neutrality\u201d.<\/p>\n Whether it is enough to convince European friends that Dublin is doing its part is another matter. It\u2019s also not clear who would come to help if Ireland were to be attacked. According to DCU professor McDonagh, \u201cthere is an \u2018understanding\u2019 with the UK on air defence, and two new memorandums of understanding with the UK and France on maritime security \u2013 but none of these amount to a mutual defence clause\u201d. By contrast, Switzerland \u2013 which also avoids military alliances but maintains a working army \u2013 is in McDonagh\u2019s view a \u201cgood illustration of what a functioning, autonomous neutral state could look like\u201d.<\/p>\n Pushback from traditionalists<\/p>\n Yet whether Ireland could take inspiration from the Swiss model is not something often discussed in Dublin. Mainly, McDonagh adds, debates have been less about concrete defence issues and more about abstract arguments of neutrality in general. And as in Switzerland, these have been driven by vocal groups wary of any dilution of traditional postures.<\/p>\n In Switzerland, reflecting the democratic and political system, this has notably taken the form of the \u201cneutrality initiative\u201d, a text aiming to enshrine \u201cperpetual and armed\u201d neutrality in the federal constitution. Driven by the right-wing Swiss People\u2019s Party, the initiative complains that sanctions against Russia mean Switzerland is \u201cabandoning its neutrality, bit by bit\u201d; the proposal would make sanctions impossible unless mandated by the UN Security Council. Voters have their say later this year.<\/p>\n What\u2019s at stake if Swiss voters accept the \u201cneutrality initiative\u201d: <\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Neutrality\n <\/p>\n How the neutrality initiative could affect Swiss policy <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Nov 18, 2025 <\/p>\n The neutrality initiative seeks to incorporate a strict interpretation of Swiss neutrality in the federal constitution. What would this mean for Switzerland\u2019s foreign and security policy? <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: How the neutrality initiative could affect Swiss policy Ireland also hasn\u2019t lacked voices warning of a military \u201cdrift\u201d towards NATO or the EU. However, these have mostly come not from the conservative right, but rather the pacifist or populist left. Catherine Connolly, elected to the largely representative role of President last year, is a prominent critic of militarisation. Sinn F\u00e9in, the biggest opposition party, is also fiercely committed to traditional neutrality, and even wants something Swiss-like: a public vote to enshrine neutrality in the Irish constitution.<\/p>\n Such a vote is unlikely. Unlike in Switzerland, there are no people\u2019s initiatives in Ireland, and referendums only happen if the ruling majority wants one (in this case, it doesn\u2019t). As such, Sinn F\u00e9in is probably \u201cplaying the left-populist card\u201d in an effort to score points against the government, reckons David Farrell, a politics professor at University College Dublin. But the party enjoys strong poll numbers, Farrell adds, and \u201cyou can\u2019t rule out the possibility that it does manage to get elected to government\u201d in the next years \u2013 and implement its agenda.<\/p>\n A protest in Dublin against the use of Shannon Airport by US military aircraft, April 15, 2026. <\/p>\n Niall Carson \/ Getty Images <\/p>\n Broad citizen support for neutrality<\/p>\n And even if the government doesn\u2019t agree with Sinn F\u00e9in on neutrality, many in Ireland do. This raises the question of legitimacy: should there be more citizen involvement in debates, given its importance? And if so, in what format?<\/p>\n With no immediate prospect of a referendum, a citizens\u2019 assembly has also been suggested: a randomly selected group of citizens that would meet to discuss defence policy and issue recommendations. However, the format, which became popular in Ireland over the past decade, was dismissed in 2023; an expert-based \u201cForum on International Security Policy\u201d took place instead. For Farrell, this was part of a trend in which citizen assemblies in Ireland have \u201cgone off the boil\u201d. Others speculated that the government didn\u2019t want to face public opinion.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only in Ireland that citizens\u2019 assemblies are struggling:<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Swiss democracy\n <\/p>\n Are citizens\u2019 assemblies on the decline in an era of eroding democracy? <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Apr 29, 2026 <\/p>\n In Switzerland, a long-planned citizens\u2019 assembly was shelved in Geneva shortly before it was due to begin. Is this part of an international trend? <\/p>\n
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\n English Department <\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779263895_510_vera-leysinger-profileImage-48369671.jpg\")
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\nI hold a bachelor\u2019s degree in Multimedia Production and completed an apprenticeship as a mediamatician. <\/p>\n
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