Communicating neutrality: public diplomacy by neutral states at the beginning of the Cold War

ABSTRACT

The Cold War constituted a major challenge for small neutral states forced to justify their political positioning. Neutrality, criticized or misunderstood, became a major issue for diplomats. Comparing the case of Switzerland with that of Sweden, Finland and Austria shows the immediate post-war period to be a key moment during which the original mechanisms of public diplomacy to justify their neutrality were developed. Presented as a political weapon, neutrality was also integrated within discourse on national identity. There are enough similarities with regard to public diplomacy in these small neutral states to identify a model that is specific to them.

KEYWORDS:

• Public diplomacy
• Cold War
• neutrality
• Switzerland
• national identity

Acknowledgements

An early version of this article was presented at the 12th Congress of the International Committee of Historical Sciences in Jinan, China (August 2015) and in Paris within the workshop ‘De nouvelles pratiques diplomatiques? Mise en perspective historique et critique’ organised by Prof. Laurence Badel (October 2016). The authors thank the participants at both events as well as the reviewers of the European Review of History for their constructive comments, which contributed significantly to improving this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

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12. This concept was introduced by the historian Karl Lamprecht in 1912. Schober, Das Auswärtige Amt und die Kunst, 21–8.

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15. Osgood and Etheridge, “The New International History,” 12. See also: Cull, “Public Diplomacy before Gullion,” 19–23.

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32. Goetschel, “Bound to be Peaceful?” 259–61.

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49. Törnudd, “Finnish Neutrality Policy During the Cold War,” 43–52.

50. Fischer and Möckli, “The Limits of Compensation,” 12–35.

51. Van Dongen, La Suisse face à la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

52. Trachsler, Bundesrat Max Petitpierre.

53. Bondallaz, “Entre propagande et action humanitaire,” 17–33.

54. Gillabert, Dans les coulisses de la diplomatie culturelle suisse.

55. Minute of Federal Council meeting, August 18, 1939. SFA, Bern, E2001(E), 1968/1982/45.

56. Lundestad, America, Scandinavia, and the Cold War (1945–1949).

57. Gabriel, The American Conception of Neutrality after 1941, 117–22.

58. Schnakenbourg, Entre la guerre et la paix, 15.

59. Austria and Finland also took part in the embargo without being formal members of the CoCom. Milner, Baldwin, and Chinouya, East–West Trade and the Atlantic Alliance, 157–8; Hanhimäki, “The First Line of Defense,” 383–9.

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61. Koivunen, Performing Peace and Friendship.

62. Andersson and Hilson, “Images of Sweden and the Nordic Countries,” 222; Kadelbach, “‘Swiss Made’,” 239–49.

63. Rainio-Niemi, The Ideological Cold War, 7; Ståhlberg, “Finnish Neutrality and Public Opinion,” 241–66.

64. The work by Edgar Bonjour, Swiss Neutrality, its History and Meaning (1946), is a small, specialized treatise on neutrality intended for the United States, whereas the booklet by Hans Bauer, La Suisse d’aujourd’hui. Bref aperçu (1947) is more synthesized and, above all, illustrated.

65. Andersson, Introduction to Sweden.

66. See, for example, the ‘J stamp’ affair of 1954: the Swiss authorities were accused of having contributed to the persecution of Jews and thus of corrupting neutrality. See, in particular, Van Dongen, La Suisse face à la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

67. Decision of the Federal Council of 6 July 1962, SFA, E1001#1967/125#13* (https://dodis.ch/30336). Edgar Bonjour, Geschichte der schweizerischen Neutralität: vier Jahrhunderte eidgenössischer Aussenpolitik.

68. Kullaa, Non-Alignment and its Origins in Cold War Europe, 19.

69. For an insight into these debates, see Kreis, La Suisse chemin faisant, 11–16.

70. See Barth’s speech, censured by the Federal Council, on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the Confederation: Barth, Im Namen Gottes des Allmächtigen! 1291–1941.

71. Niklaus Meienberg, “Bonsoir, Herr Bonjour,” Schaffhauser AZ, May 1, 1971; Ziegler, Une Suisse au-dessus de tout soupçon.

72. Goetschel, “Neutralität: Handicap oder Branding der Schweizer Aussenpolitik?” 81–94.

73. Commission of Experts Switzerland, La Suisse, le national-socialisme et la Seconde Guerre mondiale, 437–8.

74. Olivier Truc, “La neutralité suédoise écornée par un passé nazi. Au moins 260 Suédois se sont engagés dans les Waffen SS,” Libération, January 1, 2000, https://www.liberation.fr/planete/2000/01/08/la-neutralite-suedoise-ecornee-par-un-passe-nazi-au-moins-260-suedois-se-sont-engages-dans-les-waffe_315011 (accessed June 17, 2018),

75. For documents on the criticism of Swiss neutrality by the Allies, see volumes 15 and 16 of the Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland.

76. Walter, Une histoire de la Suisse; Bretcher-Spindler, Vom heissen zum kalten Krieg.

77. Minutes of the Federal Council, May 17, 1938. SFA, Bern, E1004.1#1000/9#374* (www.dodis.ch/46560); Minutes of the Federal Council, August 31, 1939. SFA, Bern, E1004.1#1000/9#389* (www.dodis.ch/46896).

78. Stenographic bulletin of the Federal Assembly (Council of States), October 2, 1945; Keel’s report, March 6, 1946, SFA, Bern, E2001(E), 1968/82/10; Gillabert, Dans les coulisses de la diplomatie culturelle suisse, 96–101.

79. Gillabert, “La ‘Swiss Attitude’ au contact américain: évolution d’une présence culturelle,” 74–5.

80. Note by Petitpierre for the meetings of the Foreign Affairs Commissions, September 1947. SFA, Bern, E2800, 1990/106/1.

81. “Federal Council report to the Federal Assembly on antidemocratic activity,” 27 July, 1946, Feuille fédérale 2, no 17, August 15, 1946, 1073–74.

82. Ruppen Coutaz, La Voix de la Suisse à l’étranger.

83. Kadelbach, “‘Swiss Made’.”

84. Federal Decree, September 25, 1950, SFA, E2001(E), 1968/83/71; Pierre Jaquillard, “Réponse à la question posée par la Commission parlementaire de gestion: ‘Lohnt sich die Tätigkeit unserer sozialen und kulturellen Attachés ?’” February 25, 1960, SFA, E2004(B), 1978/136/49.

85. See the Pro Helvetia files in the Swiss Federal Archive: E2200.60#641.01.

86. As a foundation under public law, Pro Helvetia benefits from a remarkable degree of autonomy. Nevertheless, the Federal Council appoints the 25 members and the foundation may not receive resources other than those provided by the Confederation. See Kessler, Die schweizerische Kulturstiftung ‘Pro Helvetia’; Milani, Le diplomate et l’artiste.

87. Message du Conseil fédéral à l’Assemblée fédérale concernant les moyens de maintenir et de faire connaître le patrimoine spirituel de la Confédération, December 9, 1938, Feuille fédérale 2, no 50, December 14, 1938, pp. 1001–43.

88. Rainio-Niemi, The Ideological Cold War, 18.

89. Milani, Le diplomate et l’artiste.

90. Note by van Muyden, March 15, 1956. SFA, E 2200.36, 1970/72/25.

91. Lüthy, Politique étrangère d’information et de propagande culturelle.

92. Ibid., 31.

93. Agius, The Social Construction of Swedish Neutrality; Flury-Dasein, “Die Schweiz und Schweden vor den Herausforderungen des Kalten Krieges 1945–1970.”

94. Glover, National Relations, 73.

95. Glover, “Imaging Community,” 247.

96. Glover, “Imaging Community,” 31–79.

97. Åkerlund, “The Nationalisation of Swedish Enlightenment Activities Abroad,” 26–7.

98. Dalsjö, “The Hidden Rationality of Sweden’s Policy of Neutrality during the Cold War.”

99. Clerc, “Un modèle finlandais?”

100. Brait, “die große Trennungslinie, die an unserer Haustür vorbeiführt, überbauen,” 264–70.

101. Burka, Was blieb vom Fenster in den Westen?

102. Hanhimäki, “Non-Aligned to What?” 18.

103. Gillabert, “Cultural Diplomacy of Switzerland.”

104. Burka, Was blieb vom Fenster in den Westen? 78.

105. Rainio-Niemi, The Ideological Cold War, 4.

106. Doka, Kulturelle Aussenpolitik.

107. Glover, National Relations, 28–30.

108. Thanks to Maija Koskinen for this information. Koskinen, Artistically Regenerating and Politically Topical.

109. Report by Carol Doka, Zurich, January 26, 1956, SFA, E2003(A), 1970/115/92.

110. Clerc, “Un modèle finlandais?”

111. Clerc, “Un modèle finlandais?”

112. Burka, Was blieb vom Fenster in den Westen?, 78.

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the Faculty of Arts at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, for its support.

Notes on contributors

Matthieu Gillabert

Matthieu Gillabert is a lecturer at the University of Fribourg. After completing his thesis on Switzerland’s cultural diplomacy during the second half of the twentieth century, published in 2013 (Dans les coulisses de la diplomatie culturelle suisse. Objectifs, réseaux et réalisations (1938–1984) [‘Behind the scenes of Swiss cultural diplomacy. Objectives, networks and achievements’]), he has been working on student mobility during the Cold War and urban history in Central Europe.

Pauline Milani

Pauline Milani is a lecturer in contemporary history at the University of Fribourg. Her thesis on Swiss cultural diplomacy was published in 2013 and is entitled L’artiste et le diplomate. Construction d’une politique culturelle suisse à l’étranger [The artist and the diplomat. The construction of a Swiss cultural policy abroad (1938–1985)]. Her current research is on the construction of gender identities by women artists during the Second Empire in France.