The report “A Neutral Catalonia? Comparative Analysis of Neutral States in Europe” studies neutrality as a deliberate strategy adopted by European states to protect and project their national interests.
Executive Summary
Context and Objective
This report examines the feasibility of a neutrality policy for Catalonia through a comparative study of seven European cases: Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Serbia and Moldova.
Conceptual Framework and Findings
Neutrality constitutes a deliberate international positioning strategy involving non-participation in armed conflicts and military alliances. Far from representing passivity or demilitarization, credible neutrality requires strong domestic deterrence and defense capabilities, geographic viability, and recognition by major powers—conditions that have undergone profound transformation in Europe following the invasion of Ukraine and the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden.
