ABSTRACT
On 1 August 1975, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, and Finland – the four neutral countries in Cold War Europe – were among the 35 states that signed the Helsinki Final Act. It is commonly accepted that the Neutrals played a crucial role in formulating compromises between NATO and Warsaw Pact states and in constructively shaping the CSCE negotiations.2 Swiss delegate Hans-Jörg Renk, for example, enthusiastically summarized Switzerland’s performance from 1972 to 1975 in his book on his country’s role at the CSCE: “In less than three years, Swiss diplomacy was transformed from an unknown dimension into an important factor in the European East-West dialog – Switzerland evolved from an outsider to a central actor of the conference events.”3
