Politics (Q&A)

Answer:

Switzerland is a small land-locked country in Central Europe bordering Germany to the north, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, Italy to the south and France to the west. All these countries wanted to occupy Switzerland and was thus invaded by Romans, Russians and Austrian forces. It also had to deal with internal wars. Switzerland wanted to obtain a neutral status in order to maintain its internal cohesion. And in 1648, under the Treaty of Westphalia, European countries recognised Switzerland's independence from the Holy Roman Empire and its neutrality. After Napolean’s conquer over the country and his defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna re-established Swiss independence and the major European powers agreed to permanently recognise Swiss neutrality. During World War II, Switzerland adhered to its neutral status by never officially becoming involved in the war. It's neutral status was also a result of its small geographical territory, which measures a total of 41,285 square kilometres (15,940 square miles).

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