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What factors enabled Swizerland, in the center of Europe, to successfully evade being dragged into the two world wars, the UN, the EU, everything? Can any lessons be learned from that?
What factors enabled Swizerland, in the center of Europe, to successfully evade being dragged into the two world wars, the UN, the EU, everything? Can any lessons be learned from that?
They are the torchbearers for the wussification of Europe
What factors enabled Swizerland, in the center of Europe, to successfully evade being dragged into the two world wars, the UN, the EU, everything? Can any lessons be learned from that?
Switzerland had a combination of factors going for it:
1) Modest natural resources, not really worth stealing.
2) Extremely convenient position as a way for warring sides to talk to one another without having to go face to face.
3) Big army with realistic, credible mobilization plans and reasonable equipment.
4) Lots of defensible terrain with infinite leisure to analyze and prepare--a military engineer's wet dream.
5) Great place for winning and losing kleptocrats alike to stash the haul. Terrible place to invade attempting to steal the haul.
6) Potential for an abominable guerrilla resistance operating from some of Europe's most rugged country.
7) Potential that the force needed to capture the southern mountain region could not be spared.
8) Certainty that any invasion would require more troops than anyone would want to commit to invading a place with so few rewards besides good chocolate--terrible risk/reward.
The Swiss are fierce and people best left alone. Remember Charles the Bold.
That has been said (in fact, many of the eight earlier points have) about the Afghans for Centuries, and it has failed to deter fools from trying. Of the five great nations to be granted the plum of permanent membership in the UN Security Countil, three of them have swallowed the bitter pill.
Well, for starters, Switzerland's neutrality only REALLY concerns two big boys: France and Germany. All other powers, however powerful they might be, need to deal with France or/and Germany before they can reach Switzerland. And neither France or Germany has ever been powerful/secure enough for long enough to have a need to concern themselves with Switzerland, in another word, there is always bigger fish to catch and more urgent battle to fight to waste money and time on Switzerland who is always pragmatic enough to not become the enemy of the big boy. (usually a war is either about both sides fighting over something or one side wants something from the other side. Switzerland doesn't have much the big boy can't have by just showing up at the counter and being a customer. And Switzerland doesn't have any design on anything beyond her border. Therefore, there is really little reason for the big boys, in reality, only two, to invade Switzerland, at least not before they settle their business with other big boys, which usually end in their defeat. Had Hitler won the war, he wouldn't need to fire a shot to have Switzerland turned into an German satellite. And if the current European integration process gets deep enough politically, Switzerland would eventually join the EU. Switzerland has already modified most of her laws to follow EU standard.) So it's actually not really that complex a maneuver for the Swiss.
Switzerland had a combination of factors going for it:
1) Modest natural resources, not really worth stealing.
2) Extremely convenient position as a way for warring sides to talk to one another without having to go face to face.
3) Big army with realistic, credible mobilization plans and reasonable equipment.
4) Lots of defensible terrain with infinite leisure to analyze and prepare--a military engineer's wet dream.
5) Great place for winning and losing kleptocrats alike to stash the haul. Terrible place to invade attempting to steal the haul.
6) Potential for an abominable guerrilla resistance operating from some of Europe's most rugged country.
7) Potential that the force needed to capture the southern mountain region could not be spared.
8) Certainty that any invasion would require more troops than anyone would want to commit to invading a place with so few rewards besides good chocolate--terrible risk/reward.
Another factor contributing to Swiss neutrality is the very nature of the country itself. Switzerland is a confederation consisting of cantons which have a great deal of autonomy. Cantons have independent Courts, decide social policy and what language is spoken or taught in the schools. Some cantons are French (eg. Geneva) others German (Zurich) some are even Italian. Switzerland had a violent past with conflict along religious, sectarian and cultural lines. This ended in the 19th century when the Swiss decided to live and let live and the violence stoped. The Swiss quit letting France, Austria and Germany use Switzerland for proxy wars, The Swiss have given a great example of how bring peace to a land with many cultures when everyone respects each other. Now if only the Swiss ideal would break out in the Middle East in places like Israel and Iraq.
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