The neutral powers were countries that remained

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Some of these countries had large

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

abroad or had great economic power.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

had just been through its civil war, which ended on 1 April 1939 (five months prior to the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

)—a war that involved several countries that subsequently participated in World War II. During World War II, the neutral powers took no official side, hoping to avoid attack. However, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland all helped the Allies by supplying "voluntary" brigades to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, while Spain avoided the Allies in favor of the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

, supplying them with its own voluntary brigade, the

Blue Division The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer ...

. Ireland generally favoured the Allied side, as with the United States. The United States remained officially neutral until 8 December 1941, a day following the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. The

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

between Italy and the Vatican, signed in 1929, required that the Pope maintain "perpetual neutrality in international relations"—making the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

a neutral state. Several countries suffered invasions despite their efforts to be neutral. These included

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940— then Belgium,

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. On the same day, 10 May 1940, the British, having already invaded the Faroe Islands in April, invaded Iceland and established an occupying force ( subsequently replaced by the then-neutral United States). The Soviet Union invaded Lithuania on 15 June 1940 and Latvia and Estonia on 17 June. In the Balkans, the

Italo-Greek War The Greco-Italian War (Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdoms of Italy and G ...

began on 28 October 1940 and Yugoslavia was invaded in April 1941. Iran was also attacked and occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union in August 1941 and later declared war on Nazi Germany. See also the histories of Afghanistan,

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

, Guatemala,

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

during this period.

Continent

Europe

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

*, , and – The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, jointly declared their neutrality on 18 November 1938, in Riga, at the Conference of Baltic Foreign Ministers with their respective parliaments passing neutrality laws later that year. Despite that, all of them were occupied twice by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and once by

Iceland

* – Occupied by Allied forces from May 1940.

Ireland

* – The policy of

Irish neutrality Ireland has been neutral in international relations since the 1930s. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time, and has been contested since the 1970s. Historically, the state was a "non-belligerent" in the Second World War (see Irish ...

during

was adopted by the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) at the instigation of

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

, the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

(head of government) upon the outbreak of hostilities in Europe. It was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by the Axis. De Valera refrained from joining either side, although he generally favored and aided the Allied powers by allowing access to their naval repair yards.

Portugal

* – Portugal was officially neutral during World War II. However, it maintained a close relationship with the UK, due to the

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

it had for the last six hundred years, which is the longest lasting military alliance in history. The Estado Novo sought neutrality in order to keep Spain neutral and prevent it from joining the Axis. Portugal allowed the United States to use a secret military base at Santa Maria Airport in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

through a military agreement signed on 28 November 1944. This violated its neutrality and rendered Portugal as a non-belligerent on the Allied side. Colonies of Portugal: ::*

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

::* Cape Verde ::*

Portuguese Guinea Portuguese Guinea ( pt, Guiné), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a West African colony of Portugal from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as Gu ...

::* Portuguese India ::*

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

::*

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

::* São Tomé and Príncipe ::*

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the ...

(Occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945)

Spain

* – Spain initially held to formal neutrality, but when Italy entered the war in June 1940, Francisco Franco changed Spain's status to that of "

non-belligerent A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war. A non-belligerent state differs from a neutral one i ...

" and proceeded to occupy

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

. From June 1940 until February 1941, the Francoist regime was greatly tempted by interventionism; a prominent

Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...

, Foreign Minister

Ramón Serrano Suñer Ramón Serrano Suñer (12 September 1901 – 1 September 2003), was a Spanish politician during the first stages of the Francoist dictatorship, between 1938 and 1942, when he held the posts of President of the FET y de las JONS caucus (1936) ...

was highly influential in the government. However, meetings with German officials, including the Hendaye meeting between Franco and Hitler on 23 October 1940, did not bring formal entry of Spain into the war. :

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

shifted the main theater of war away from the Mediterranean, lessening Spain's interest in intervention. The less-relevant Serrano Suñer was still able to create the

, made up of Spanish volunteers to fight for the Axis. With the conflict decidedly turning in favor of the Allies, Franco returned the status of Spain to one of "vigilant neutrality" on 1 October 1943. :During most of the war, Spain had been a key provider of strategic tungsten ore to Nazi Germany. Amid heavy Allied diplomatic and economic pressure, Spain signed a secret deal with the United States and United Kingdom on 2 May 1944 to drastically limit tungsten exports to Germany and expel German spies from Spanish soil.

Sweden

* – Before the war, Sweden and the other Nordic countries announced their planned neutrality in any large European conflict. When Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, Sweden changed its position to that of a

, which was not defined by international treaties, thus freeing Sweden from the restrictions of neutrality. Among other things, it allowed the Swedish government to support Finland during the

, allowed German soldiers on leave to travel through Sweden, and at one point allowed a combat division to travel from Norway to Finland through Sweden. The transit of German troops through Finland and Sweden and Swedish iron-ore mining during World War II helped the German war effort. Sweden had disarmed after World War I and was in no position to resist German threats militarily by 1940. :In 1943, the

Swedish Armed Forces The Swedish Armed Forces ( sv, Försvarsmakten, "the Defense Force") is the government agency that forms the armed forces of Sweden, tasked with the defense of the country as well as with promoting Sweden's wider interests, supporting internati ...

were much improved, and all such deals with Germany were terminated. Hitler considered invading Sweden, but when Göring protested, Hitler dropped the plan. The Swedish

SKF AB SKF (Swedish: ''Svenska Kullagerfabriken''; 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and l ...

company supplied the majority of ball-bearings used in Germany and was also important to Allied aircraft production. :Swedish Intelligence cracked the German Geheimschreiber cipher and shared decrypted information with the Allies. Stalin was informed well in advance of Hitler's planned invasion of the Soviet Union but chose not to believe the information. :Danish resistance worked with Sweden to carry out the 1943

rescue of the Danish Jews The Danish resistance movement, with the assistance of many Danish citizens, managed to evacuate 7,220 of Denmark's 7,800 Jews, plus 686 non-Jewish spouses, by sea to nearby neutral Sweden during the Second World War.Liberation of Finnmark, Sweden sent Norwegian "police" troops over the border to link up with Allied forces. At the end of the war, Sweden was preparing to join the Allied invasion of Norway and Denmark if the occupying Wehrmacht forces rejected a general armistice.

Switzerland

* – As in World War I, Switzerland maintained its historic neutrality. It depended on German coal, with 10 million tons imported during the war, comprising 41% of Swiss energy supplies. The Swiss military often opened fire on Axis bombers invading its airspace; Switzerland also shot down Allied planes over its territory on several occasions. Throughout the war, cities in Switzerland were accidentally bombed by both Axis and Allied aircraft. The Axis did have plans for an

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...

of Switzerland, but Switzerland had formed complex fortifications and amassed thousands of soldiers in the mountains to thwart any Axis invasion. Perhaps for these reasons and the extreme mountainous conditions in Switzerland the invasion plans were never realised.

Turkey

* was neutral until several months before the end of the war, at which point it joined the Allies. Prior to the outbreak of war, Turkey signed a Mutual Aid Pact with France and Britain in 1939. After the German

invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

, however, Turkey remained neutral, relying on a clause excusing them if military action might bring conflict with the USSR. In June 1941, after neighbouring Bulgaria joined the Axis and allowed Germany to move troops through to invade

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, Turkey signed a treaty of friendship with Germany.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

and his military staff met the Turkish president on 30 January 1943 in the Adana Conference, although Turkey did not then change its position. *Turkey was an important producer of chromite, a strategic material for metallurgy to which Germany had limited access. The Germans wanted it, and the Allies wanted to prevent them getting it, so chromite was the key issue in Turkey's negotiations with both sides. Turkey would backpedal on its agreement to supply Nazi Germany with chromite after instead selling it to the rival nations the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the

after the two allied nations agreed to also purchase dried fruit and tobacco from Turkey as well.Allied Relations and Negotiations With Turkey

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

, pp. 6-8 Turkey halted its sales to Germany in April 1944 and broke off relations in August. In February 1945, after the Allies made its invitation to the inaugural meeting of the United Nations (along with the invitations of several other nations) conditional on full belligerency, Turkey declared war on the Axis powers, but no Turkish troops ever saw combat.

Microstates

=Andorra

= * remained neutral throughout World War II.

=Liechtenstein

= * remained neutral throughout World War II.

=Monaco

= * was occupied by Italy and later by Germany.

=San Marino

= * was briefly occupied by Germany on 17–20 September 1944. The occupation led the microstate to declare war on Germany on 21 September 1944.

=Vatican City

= *, see Vatican City during World War II

Asia

Afghanistan

* remained neutral throughout World War II.

Bhutan

* remained neutral throughout World War II.

Iran

* was initially neutral but was occupied by the Allies (see Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran). It later declared war on Germany in 1943.

Saudi Arabia

* severed diplomatic contacts with Germany on 11 September 1939, and with Japan in October 1941. Although officially neutral, the Saudis provided the Allies with large supplies of oil. Diplomatic relations with the United States were established in 1943. King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud was a personal friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Americans were then allowed to build an air force base near

Dhahran Dhahran ( ar, الظهران, ''Al-Dhahran'') is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 240,742 as of 2021, it is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby citi ...

. Saudi Arabia declared war on Germany on 28 February 1945 and Japan on 1 April 1945, but no military actions resulted from the declaration.

Tibet

* remained neutral throughout World War II. While ''de facto''

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and under the rule of the Dalai Lama, it was internationally recognized as a regional province of the Republic of China. The Tibetan government received Allied (British and American) military officers in Lhasa in 1943. Following the end of World War II and the defeat of the Nationalists by the Communists led by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

in the Chinese Civil War, Tibet was invaded and annexed by China in 1951.

Yemen

* remained neutral throughout World War II.

Americas

Argentina

* – Before the start of World War 2 in 1939,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

had maintained a long tradition of neutrality regarding European wars, which had been upheld and defended by all major political parties since the 19th century. One of the main reasons for this policy was related to Argentina's economic position as one of the world's leading exporters of foodstuffs and agricultural products, to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

in general and to the

in particular. Thus, initially, even though the government of Argentina was sympathetic to the AlliesCarlos Escudé
''Un enigma: la "irracionalidad" argentina frente a la Segunda Guerra Mundial'', Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe, Vol. 6 Nº 2, jul-dic 1995, Universidad de Tel Aviv
/ref> and provided economic assistance to the

,Galasso, Norberto (2006). ''Perón: Formación, ascenso y caída (1893-1955)'', Colihue, the country's political tradition of neutralism prevailed. Following the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

and the subsequent American declaration of war upon Japan, American pressure for Argentine entry into the war begun to increase. Relations worsened further following a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

, as the plotters were accused of holding

sympathies. Because of strong divisions and internal disputes between members of the Argentine military, the country would continue to remain

, even after American sanctions. However, Argentina eventually gave in to the Allies' pressure, broke relations with the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

on January 26, 1944, and declared war on March 27, 1945. Over 4,000 Argentine volunteers fought on the Allied side.

United States

* – The United States remained neutral at the outbreak of World War II in compliance with the Neutrality Act of 1936 despite favoring the Allied side. However, the sudden defeat of France by Nazi Germany in the spring of 1940 led the country to significantly expand its armed forces through the

Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act, , was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men who had reached their 21st birthday b ...

. On 29 December of that year, President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

declared that the United States was to be the "

Arsenal of Democracy "Arsenal of Democracy" was the central phrase used by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a radio broadcast on the threat to national security, delivered on December 29, 1940—nearly a year before the United States entered the Second Worl ...

" for the Allies by giving them supplies while the country remained neutral. The U.S. remained neutral until 8 December 1941, when it declared war on Japan in response to the surprise

the previous day.

Conclusion

Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland held to the concept of

armed neutrality A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type of ...

, and continuously amassed soldiers to defend their nation's

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

from potential invasion. Thus, they maintained the right to become belligerent if attacked while in a state of neutrality. The concept of ''neutrality in

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'' is narrowly defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognized right to remain neutral. A wider concept is that of

non-belligerence A non-belligerent is a person, a state, or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict. The term is often used to describe a country that does not take part militarily in a war. A non-belligerent state differs from a neutral one in ...

. The basic treaty covering Neutral states is Convention V of The Hague Respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land (1907). It is important to note that a ''neutral country'' takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by either of them. A ''neutralist policy'' aims at neutrality in case of an armed conflict that could involve the party in question. A ''neutralist'' is an advocate of neutrality in

international affairs International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

. The concept of ''neutrality in conflicts'' is distinct from non-alignment, i.e., the willful desistance from

military alliance A military alliance is a formal agreement between nations concerning national security. Nations in a military alliance agree to active participation and contribution to the defense of others in the alliance in the event of a crisis. (Online) ...

s in order to preserve neutrality in case of war, and perhaps with the hope of preventing a war altogether. In a study of Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden during the Second World War, Eric Golson found that they engaged in economic

realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...

, as they traded with both the Axis and the Allied Powers.

References

*Karsh, E. "Neutrality and Small States." 1989. *Gabriel, J. M. "The American Conception of Neutrality After 1941." 1989.

External links

*http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-neutral.html
Second Hague Convention
{{World War II Law of war International relations Powers