ABSTRACT
Switzerland as a “permanent neutral” in Europe offers a puzzle: despite being a small state with a reputation to foster international peace, diplomacy, and arms control, it entertained an advanced program exploring the option of nuclear weapons until the late 1960s. While it hosted several negotiations and conferences, Switzerland played no role in negotiating the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and ratified it only in 1977. This chapter explores how international and domestic political, intra-governmental, societal, and military-strategic developments coincided to shape Switzerland’s attitude toward and perception of the NPT. The chapter puts forward several factors to explain the Swiss puzzle. In the 1950s and ’60s, opposing political camps inside the country disputed the reading of Switzerland’s neutrality and defense posture. The camp arguing for mobile defense and a potential nuclear weapon prevailed at first, backed by popular referenda until a series of scandals eroded trust between politics and the army in 1964. In the end, a struggle for competence between ministries and Switzerland’s non-membership at the United Nations restricted Berne to the role of a passive observer and latecomer to international developments surrounding the NPT.
