This month, the Center for Security Studies (Zurich) published an excellent analysis of Switzerland's Middle East policy. The article first reminds readers that Switzerland follows a policy of engagement on the basis of three principles: neutrality, universality, and recognition of states rather than governments. The last element can be specifically contrasted with the foreign policy of the U.S., which regularly denies recognition to governments on the basis of perceived political necessity. The CSS Analysis describes this approach as "the US-Israeli policy of isolating unpopular regimes." Although the article's aim is actually to question whether Switzerland's active involvement in dialogue and peace building in the Middle East is compatible with the notion of neutrality, there is an underlying idea in the article that dialogue among countries or "civilizations" is basically left to Switzerland on account of its need to defend its raison d’etre. The article implies that neither Europe or the U.S. is standing up for dialogue or genuine peace building. One example in the article of the Swiss "inclusion" strategy was when it became clear that Switzerland was "the only Western state that has never joined in isolating Hamas." Switzerland also takes an inclusive approach to Hezbollah in Lebanon, in contrast to the U.S., which has listed it as a terrorist organization. The article agrees that the Swiss “dialogue and mediation approach is supported by solid reasoning,” but also complains that the Swiss face too many tensions in the application of its “ambitious foreign policy.”
