Only 32% of Swiss citizens support joining NATO, while 87% want to uphold the country’s neutrality—yet the Defence Department presented the findings as a call for “more NATO cooperation.”
The “Security 2025” study, commissioned by the Defence Ministry under Centre Party politician Martin Pfister, was released with a title suggesting world pessimism is pushing the Swiss toward stronger NATO ties. A closer look tells a different story.
Despite the war in Ukraine, neutrality remains deeply rooted in Swiss public opinion. Support for conscription (69%) and a well-trained militia army (90%) remains strong, as does backing for increased defence spending—now at its highest level since 1986.
Critics say the way the results were presented reveals more about the political preferences of the study’s sponsors than about the public’s actual views. If neutrality had been the goal, the headline would have read very differently.
