ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the state of the neutrality concept between 1945 and 1965. It first discusses how the post-war order was planned without and against neutrals and how in the early days of the Cold War “neutralism” and “nonalignment” emerged as new conceptual frameworks to describe political actors around the world who wished to remain outside the political and ideological coalitions of the time. The chapter then portrays the interactions of the United States and the Soviet Union with the neutralist tendencies of Europe, arguing that both superpowers tried to forestall neutralism as far as possible in their spheres of influence while encouraging similar activities on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Finally, the chapter explains the political reasons and processes involved in the neutralities of Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Finland, and Yugoslavia before showing how the concept made a comeback internationally in the early 1960s.
