Title: The Price of Political Uniqueness: Swiss Foreign Policy in a Changing World
Abstract: On 3 March 2002, the Swiss voted in favour of joining the United Nations. Less than a year earlier, on 10 June 2001, they had approved a government bill permitting regular units of the Swiss Armed Forces to participate in operations abroad. Although in both cases the voting results were extremely narrow, they are an indication of change. Switzerland is overcoming its traditional reluctance to participate actively in international politics and to join the necessary organisations.1 However, there is still a long way to go. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, and neither is it part of the European Economic Area (EEA), the Union's antechamber. Needless to say, the country is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), although it has begun to participate in a number of activities related to NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP). As is well known, Switzerland is hesitant to join certain international organisations.2 KeywordsForeign PolicyDirect DemocracyNorth Atlantic Treaty OrganizationHague ConventionEuropean Economic AreaThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.