Neutrals and Neutrality in a World of Total War, 1914–1918

Abstract

Neutrals rarely take centre stage in the writing of the history of the First World War, yet neutral countries played key roles in the course and conduct of the war. Using examples from across the world, this chapter shows that not only was neutrality a common and well-understood foreign policy employed by great and small powers alike, but that most contemporaries also understood how essential neutrality was to the dynamics of the conflict as it transformed into a global total war between 1914 and 1918. By focusing on the roles played by neutral governments in the war and the experiences of neutral communities, the chapter highlights how the war fundamentally affected the lives of contemporaries. Furthermore, it shows how neutrality—as a legitimate position in the war—came under increasing scrutiny, so much so that by 1918, many considered neutrality an absurd and inappropriate foreign policy position. Altogether, this chapter argues that by focusing on the role of neutrals, it is possible to show how the First World War developed into a system-breaking global conflict that demanded system-changing solutions to be invented in its wake.