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It is not difficult to enumerate the contributions that Switzerland can make to European security. Even more interesting is the question: why do we need to do that? But one thing at a time.
Swiss journalist Roger de Weck recently told the Neue Zurcher Zeitung that his country is a “niche market.” […] A place where things happen that are forbidden elsewhere. ” Mark Peace, a Swiss criminal law professor and corruption hunter, quaintly describes the place as a “pirate port.” The aspects of Swiss politics they refer to are well known and regularly scrutinized in established Swiss media. Their criticism has increasingly alienated Switzerland’s neighbors, even democratic neighbors who, for example, have banned arms produced by former Swiss companies from being handed over to Ukraine, which is fighting a brutal invader. It is far beyond our understanding of neutrality.
Switzerland likes to think of itself as a privileged island caught in a storm, but in reality it is the world’s largest (and very generous) offshore financial center. It has long been the center of global goods trade and a huge magnet for the endless flow of illicit data, money, goods and people that constitute the dark shadow of globalization. All this is provided by a dense and opaque network of lawyers, consultants, and brokers.
Even before Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, this situation was a nuisance for many other countries. However, in the context of Europe’s biggest security crisis since 1945, this could allow the Kremlin to undermine Western sanctions (of which Switzerland at least participates), thereby prolonging the war. From a geoeconomic perspective, this leaves Switzerland with significant vulnerabilities in European security policy.
There are many concrete suggestions for closing this security gap. Switzerland could create a commodity trading regulator. Or even better, participate in international monitoring efforts. G7 countries and the European Union want Switzerland to do more to close loopholes in the prosecution of sanctions violators. They also want Bern to join the international REPO (Russian Elites, Agents and Oligarchies) task force that tracks hidden assets of Russian kleptocratic politicians. After all, the Swiss Bankers Association itself estimates that at least 150 billion Swiss francs (about $171 billion) of Russian assets are held in Swiss accounts.
The question remains as to why that is. Swiss media has a rather notable habit of theorizing about “huge pressure” from abroad. This is a bit reminiscent of Berlin, where policymakers and politicians often bring up “constraints” (situations, allies, norms) that force behavior. And Swiss banking secrecy was indeed covered up by the US Treasury a decade ago.
Nevertheless, why does such a rich and powerful country, one of the world’s 20 largest economies and currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, have so much more to offer than they actually do? Will they pretend to be small and weak? Especially since Switzerland, unlike Germany, has elevated the principle of neutrality, the freedom not to take sides, to its raison d’être. The contradiction is obvious.
Perhaps it is time for Bern to reconsider the preconditions for freedom of action in an era of strategic competition, a crumbling world order, and bloc formation between democratic and authoritarian powers. Of course, Switzerland is not an island, but a global player in an increasingly interdependent global economy. It is also subject to the weaponization of interdependence. Some might point out that Switzerland is a passive beneficiary of the order of peace, law and prosperity protected by NATO and the EU in Europe. However, as a non-member country, we have no voice or veto power within these circles of friends. It’s not the people who make the rules, it’s the people who take them.
NATO and the EU initially took a closed-minded attitude toward the effects of Russian aggression, not only on Ukraine but on the entire European order. But given the fact that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are increasingly finding common ground, and the fact that the so-called Global South is by no means siding with the victims and their allies, Western countries Currently on the defensive. . And if Donald Trump or the Trumpists win the US elections in November 2024, Europe will be very alone in the world, and Switzerland will join it.
Will this suddenly lead Switzerland to seek union and EU protection? Or is it to eliminate geo-economic vulnerabilities in order to have one less entry point to Europe’s adversaries? Unlikely. But the idea that the exposure is a national security gap that should be closed in the interests of the country’s freedom of action is becoming rather plausible.
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