Switzerland and War

Switzerland and War addresses the paradox that Switzerland, a country neutral for over four centuries, has an equally long tradition of bearing arms. The communal decision after the defeat at Marignano in 1515, to avoid hostilities against external powers, was confirmed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and Switzerland managed to remain neutral, but over the same period there has been armed conflict within Switzerland the last example as late as 1847. Although Switzerland was spared physical destruction in the twentieth century, the country was inevitably marked by the measures necessary during war-time and by the changes wrought as peace was established. The six contributions to this second volume of Occasional Papers in Swiss Studies trace the effects of war on Switzerland over the last 150 years from a historical, sociological and literary perspective and show the impact of war on a non-combatant nation.