The future of Swiss foreign and security policy: increasing international cooperation is the key to national autonomy

• Main Author: Buechi, Niels O.
• Other Authors: Abenheim, Donald
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/10749

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited === This thesis investigates the future development of Swiss foreign and security policy, particularly in the context of the continuing trend toward alliances and cooperative policymaking entities in and around Europe. It focuses on two main aspects: One is how international cooperation in general influences national autonomy and neutrality; the other is the specific impact of the Lisbon Treaty of the European Union on Swiss foreign, security, and defense policy. This twopillar structure informs the central question of this thesis, namely whether increasing international cooperation is the key to Swiss national autonomy and Switzerland's place in the international system of states. For outsiders, at first glance, this question and the whole approach may appear inherently contradictory. How can more or more extensive international cooperation lead to greater national autonomy in Swiss statecraft? It is the aim of this study to investigate and explain how cooperation in one political field can enhance and support autonomy in another political area. The thesis concludes by measuring the value of autonomy and develops some evolutionary options and models for future international cooperation. The final chapter provides an assessment of how much international cooperation is appropriate or recommended in light of the national and international consequences.